The Mole : Festive Saboteur !
by Princess Toady
Summary: The Mole... A tale of betrayal where ten players try to find the saboteur's identity while competing in various challenges... Many of them will try, but only one will prevail, and that will be the person who answers this question : Who is the Mole ? THE MOLE IS FINALLY REVEALED ! Read the reviews at your own expense.
1. Meeting the Candidates !

The Mole : Festive Saboteur !

This fiction is the property of Toady16/Princess Toady. Any reproduction, whether it is partial or complete, is strictly forbidden. Of course, you can find some kind of inspiration in my work (or not), but please, do not steal it from me. Who would want to be praised for the work of another anyway ?

So, what is The Mole ? The Mole was an anglophone show, that was canceled a few years ago. In The Mole, a bunch of players is competing in various physical and mental challenges to earn money that will be added to the Team Pot, the Team Pot being the prize of the sole winner.

Among the players is a traitor, a saboteur, hired by the producers to hinder the real players' effort to win money. This individual is called the Mole, their objective being to stay hidden from the players while destructing their hopes of adding money to the Team Pot.

The players would want to know who is the Mole, because at each end of episodes, they will have to take a questionnaire, asking them what the Mole did during the said-episode. Each time, the player who will score the lowest on the quiz will be definitely eliminated from the game.

In the end, there will be a winner, a runner-up, and obviously the Mole, who cannot be eliminated at all.

Before I start this story, or maybe after, who knows, maybe you will want to check out TheGreatAdvenger's Mole fiction, and Krisetchers' ones. Their stories are really cool, you wouldn't want to miss them, would you ? ^^

I would gladly appreciate any review, but maybe you shouldn't try to read what the other reviewers think... Who knows, if they spoil the fiction for you, it will not really be fun to read anymore, right ? And I still don't know if I'll put clue toward the Mole's identity...

Oh, and last warning before I really start : I'm French. ^^'''

So yeah, you might find mistakes in my chapters, unfortunately... And I have nothing against constructive criticism or flames (flames are a kind of bad reviews, aren't them ?). ^^

* * *

1 : Meeting the Candidates !

Pipetown, also known as the center of communication of the Party Land. It was here that Monty Mole was waiting the contestants, for what would be his third time at hosting the game show The Mole. The first two seasons were amazing in his mind, he couldn't wait more for this new adventure to begin.

"My, my... I hope the helicopters are arriving soon ! I can't wait anymore, I'm dying to meet the new contestants ! Remember, my friends. During the first season, Toady Dress, Rosalina Caprio and Kylie Koopa reached the final episode, the first one being the winner, the second one being the runner-up and the last one being the Mole," recalled hastily the host.

Monty Mole took the time to breath, and continued to talk afterward. "In the second season, where twelve strangers competed to earn the victory, Lays Terryns was the Mole, Boonty Ghoste the winner, and Tanoo Kie the runner up ! In this second season, many players had great strategies, notably Tanoo who was using his coalition partner to eliminate the players who dropped like flies."

"And now...well, we are waiting for ten new contestants, this time all famous celebrities of the Mushroom Kingdom ! Let me just tell you one thing. Maybe they will not be who you think they will be..." mysteriously announced Monty Mole. "Hey ! Look, listen ! The first helicopter is here !"

A pink helicopter landed before the pipe-shaped entrance. Two players got off the the vehicle, the first one being a pink dinosaur wearing a huge and shiny bow-tie on her head, and the second one being a classy old Boo with slanted eyes, carrying a towel on his arm.

"Weeeeelcome !" greeted Monty Mole while waddling toward the two newcomers.

"Why, hello good sir," politely responded Bootler, shaking hands with the host.

"Well, hello there !" happily chirped back Birdo. "Is the game starting soon ?" she asked in a giddy way.

Monty Mole chuckled. "Well, maybe we should wait for the other players, don't you think so ?"

"I guess so," blushed the impatient dinosaur. "Hey look ! They're coming !"

"Mmmh... I wonder who they are," thought aloud Bootler.

Two helicopters were closing the distance between them and the entrance of Pipetown where three persons patiently waiting for more of them to arrive. One of them was blue, the other was green. Two people got out of each vehicle. A strong and muscular ape wearing a red tie on which were printed the letters 'DK' and a small blue-shelled tropical creature came out of the blue helicopter. Hopping off the second helicopter were a red polka doted mushroom, wearing a blue shirt, a white diaper and brown shoes, and also a levitating fairy, all dressed in blue. Donkey Kong, Noki, Toad and Jojora were entering the game.

"Hello everyone ! You're all here for the game ?" questioned the little Toad.

"No duh. Of course they are, genius !" exclaimed Jojora while rolling her eyes.

"Thank you for your kindness !" laughed bitterly Toad.

Donkey Kong and Noki were less noisy, being respectively taciturn and shy. Then, in the distance, appeared the last two helicopters : a red one and a yellow one. A questionable pair got out of the red one. Once known for being a dating couple, the two individuals were wearing mostly red. A blue shelled Koopa quickly escaped the yellow one, followed minutes later by a mauve floating cloud, wearing jewelry. Mario, Pauline, Kooper and Flurrie were the last four contestants.

"...and then, I was like, 'No way ! You cannot do that to an exquisite lady like me !', well, you know what I mean darling ?" ranted obnoxiously Flurrie about something totally insignificant.

"God help me," muttered Kooper so she wouldn't hear him. "Oh, hi Monty !"

Monty Mole looked shocked. He hadn't realized yet that the reason of Kooper's disappearance of the staff crew was due to his recent involvement as a player. "Kooper ! You are a player ? That's amazing ! I wish you luck !"

"AH-hem... I hope there won't be any favoritism, if you know what I mean," interrupted Mario.

Monty Mole laughed. "Don't worry about this Mario, I'm the perfect host for this Mole game-show. Now, if you would all please follow me... I would like to introduce you to the game."

* * *

First name : Birdo

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

First name : Bootler

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

First name : Donkey

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

First name : Noki

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

First name : Toad

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

First name : Jojora

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

First name : Pauline

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

First name : Mario

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

First name : Flurrie

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

First name : Kooper

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

* * *

Everything did not go as planned. Monty Mole was a fast runner, and soon, the players lost him. Reluctantly, they decided to head toward the center of Pipetown, in order to have lunch. Soon, they all discussed unimportant things, and tried to know each other better.

**Mario** : I thought that Monty Mole had left us all alone on purpose, but for what purpose ? That's the question actually.

"So you were part of the production team before ?" asked an interested Pauline to Kooper, called the game's expert by the others.

"That's a way to say it... Yeah, I guess. But I never was informed of anything really important you know. I was more, like, helping Monty Mole during some challenges, you know. Most of the time I was preparing the challenges."

"Wow... That's quite interesting..."

**Pauline** : Let's be realistic, there is no way the producers let Kooper play the game as a normal player. Of course, it would make sense if he was actually the Mole. If he isn't, then that's really unfair for us...

Flurrie was watching intently the salad in her plate, when suddenly, she decided to eat something else. "Bellboy, might I have your attention ?"

"That would be hard not to remark her," sarcastically commented Jojora. Donkey snickered.

"Yeah, I still wonder why they accepted her... She could scare the kids without disguising herself !"

"Great minds think alike, heh ?"

"You can say that again."

**Donkey** : I like Jojora, she has a very interesting personality and she's my favorite player, beside myself of course. She isn't a hypocrite, unlike some others I won't mention.

Noki was sitting at the very end of the table, she sighed as she saw that nobody was paying her any attention. "Well, well, well... Here goes the change..."

**Noki** : I'm not what you might call a loud person. I tend to be shy around strangers and I'm not one to put myself forward... I need more time to feel confident, or maybe I just need someone I can talk to...

Birdo noticed Noki's strange behavior and decided to sit next to her, to make her feel like she was at home. She apologized to Mario and Toad, who were in a deep conversation about mushrooms, and walked toward Noki.

"Hi ! How are you feeling ?" asked kindly Birdo.

"I'm fine..."

Birdo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure ?"

"Well, I do feel a little lonely..." answered an embarrassed Noki.

"You don't mind if I'm sitting next to you, do you ?"

Thirty minutes later, Monty Mole, who was spying them hidden behind dark shades, made an announcement. "THE PLAYERS FROM THE MOLE HAVE TO GO MEET THEIR HOST, MONTY MOLE, AT THE MOONLIGHT HOTEL !"

The players quickly paid the bill and headed toward what would be their first challenge.

* * *

Monty Mole could now see the players, hurrying in the distance. They all arrived, panting after so much exercise. Only Flurrie, Bootler and Jojora, the floating contestants, were fresh and full of energy. Monty Mole held the door for them to enter into the Moonlight Hotel, walked toward the center of the room, and turned to face them.

"Okay everyone, let me remind you of the game's rules. First of all, you are ten players. Among you is hidden the Mole, a player whose goal is to sabotage the group's effort. Your goal, however, is to find who the Mole is and at the same time, to win the challenges that will be proposed to you. At the end of each episode, one of you will be executed, with no hope of returning into the game," explained Monty Mole, accustomed to the game's basics.

Bootler looked surprised. "Strange choice of wording, I must say."

"Before each execution, you will have to take a quiz. This quiz will be about what the Mole did during the challenges, or what they like. It can be about anything, but you will have to answer it carefully if you want to stay in the game."

"We'll definitely have to be observant," remarked Toad.

"As long as the projectors are shining on me, everything will be alright," laughed delicately Flurrie while winking at the camera. The others coughed.

"Anyway," started Monty Mole, totally changing the subject, "We will now begin our first challenge, called 'Mixed-up Possessions'. Each of you will be brought in a room. In this room, there will be ten items and ten tags, on which will be written the players' names. You will have to link the items to their owners. Obviously, you will be able to identify your item, or will you ? If you identify at least three items, you will add a thousand coins to your pot. If you identify correctly six items, you will add two thousand coins to your pot. Finally, if one of you identifies all of the items, without making any mistakes, you will win twenty thousand coins. Do you all understand ?"

"Of course we understand, are you calling us dumb ?" harshly responded Jojora, her arms crossed. Pauline just shook her head at Jojora's answer.

**Pauline** : I shouldn't judge people on first impressions, but let's say that in Jojora's case, they will be right. I have no doubt about it. This girl's definition can be found on the B pages of any dictionary.

Monty Mole shrugged, and soon smirked. "However... If one of you did not make at least one good guess... Three thousand coins will be subtracted from your team pot. There are one or two other twists, but I will let you discover them. Now you just have to pick one number between one and ten, and you will have to go to the room you are assigned to. Good luck, players !"

**Kooper** : I know what Monty Mole means by 'twists'... And let me tell you that most of the time, it isn't good at all...

"Well, I'm giving myself the opportunity to choose before anyone else !" suddenly exclaimed Flurrie, as she floated over the table and took the number nine.

Jojora looked at the other players and soon sprinted to the table, to get the number she wanted. "Aah, number one. Of course, that's the only one that suits me."

Kooper knew that sometimes, choices could be decisive in the game, so he took action. "I'm taking the seventh !"

One after another, the players chose their numbers and went to their room.

* * *

Room 1 : Jojora

Jojora looked at her surroundings and quickly made her way to the table. A diamond ring, a blue hat, a green shell, a red tie, a towel, a blue journal, a red lipstick, a purple eyeshadow, a gardening book and a red cap were laying on it.

**Jojora** : I thought this was a fairly easy challenge. I mean, some things were just yelling the name of their owners.

"So... This hat is mine ! Err... This red tie is obviously Donkey's... Red cap for Mario... The book for Toad and the shell for Kooper !" enumerated Jojora. "Mmmh... This ugly red lipstick must be Flurrie's ! This is way too easy ! Wait... What about the Diamond Ring ? Could it be Flurrie's ?"

**Jojora** : Actually, only the obvious items were easy. After taking a close look at them, I realized that more than one person could own them. Like, for example, the purple eyeshadow. I think Birdo, Pauline and Flurrie all put this kind of make-up on their faces.

* * *

Room 6 : Bootler

Bootler, one of the last to take a number, made his way toward the sixth room. He opened the door and started to associate items with tags. He put Birdo for the Yoshi T-Shirt, Jojora for the green dress, Mario for the brown shoes, Flurrie for Doopliss' letter, but he wasn't sure for the rest.

**Bootler** : It was a difficult task to accomplish. I had no way to link the generic items with a player.

He still had to find who did possess a Sniffit's sculpture, golden earrings, a red watch, deodorant, and a picture on which figured the eight partners of Paper Mario, as he correctly his item which was a white tie.

* * *

Room 9 : Flurrie

Flurrie's room was different, there were many items, many tags, but there also were two pieces of paper. The first one was strangely giving her clues as to which item belonged to what person. The second one was giving her instructions that she didn't have to follow...unless she wanted an exemption.

Flurrie looked delighted. "That's so wonderful ! Splendastic !"

And so, Flurrie began to work to earn an exemption.

* * *

Room 4 : Noki

Noki looked at the items disposed before her. Purple eyeshadow, gold bangles, a dolphin plush she identified as her item, a red dress, a gold tiara, a photo of famous people, a comb, boxing gloves, a blue shirt and an orange bandana.

She put the name 'Noki' on the plush and the name 'Donkey' on the boxing gloves. "I will just have to think a little for the others... This man on the photo looks like Mario... Maybe his brother ?" She put Mario's name on the photo.

"I really don't see Bootler wearing a shirt, and it would be too tight for Kooper. Maybe that's Toad's ? Then again, Kooper has no hair, probably doesn't wear jewelry and certainly doesn't wear dresses... The bandana is his !"

**Noki **: This challenge was really easy, you just had to be observant ! If you didn't know who had an item, you just had to turn things around to find who couldn't possess this item.

* * *

Room 10 : Donkey

**Donkey** : Seriously, why do we have to do this ? It just sucks ! I didn't even talked to half of the contestants and they expect me to do this ? C'mon, that's insane !

Donkey was not taking this challenge seriously. He did however try the first minutes.

"At least I know for sure this item is mine... I must really be lucky to have to find which things belong to which person... That's only clothes ! How am I supposed to know who took that ?" fumed Donkey Kong.

* * *

Room 7 : Kooper

**Kooper** : My first challenge ! I'm so glad the producers let me try this game, it looks so interesting !

"Hmm... That's a Lava Rock that you can only find near a volcano... I guess that's Birdo's since she lives in LavaLava Island," explained Kooper while putting a 'Birdo' tag on it. He then took a pair of earrings.

"Well, I'm not an expert on jewelry, but that's something I would expect Noki to wear," laughed the competitor. "As for this blue shirt, that's easy ! It's Mario's !"

Kooper then blushed as he made a comment about a red frilly underwear's owner. "That's Pauline's. I bet it would look good on her."

* * *

Room 3 : Mario

The plumber dressed in red was having a fun time, trying to win his part of the game.

**Mario** : It's nice to sit out of the action once in a while. I miss so many things during my adventures... Sometimes, I wish I wasn't a 'hero'.

"Let's do it Mario-style !" cheered the enthusiastic plumber. "I think I'll divide the items into two parts... One for the women and the other for the men."

He then started to associate names with things. He easily found out what his, Donkey's, Bootler's, Flurrie's, Kooper's, Pauline's and Toad's item were, but was confused at the last three.

**Mario** : I noticed that Birdo was more into make-up than Jojora and Noki, so I gave her the eyeliner. But I have to say that I had no clue about the other two.

In the end, Mario gave Noki the blue dress and Jojora the blue sailor sunhat, thinking she disliked the sun.

* * *

Room 8 : Birdo

Birdo lost no time and immediately tried to find who brought the ten items. Right away, she found her Black Rose perfume.

**Birdo **: I'm not afraid of the mistakes I might make, because I know I am not the Mole. I hope the Mole won't strike too soon.

Having talked a little with Noki, Birdo had learned a few things about her. She easily found that she was the one who possessed the glasses.

"This game isn't easy at all. It all depends of your luck actually. If the items you have to link to their owners are very common, you have less chances to succeed. Hopefully, someone will find everything," stated clearly Birdo.

"Blue Lipstick ? That's not something a girl would use normally... But then again, it can't really be a boy. Oh I know ! Jojora !" happily shouted the pink dinosaur.

* * *

Room 2 : Toad

The little Toad sat on a chair and began to think about the ten items that were laying before him. He recognized Toadette's lucky charm, and put his name next to the item. He also saw a huge white bow tie and put Birdo's name on it. The other items were a red fan, a red dress, a seashell, a red buff, a picture of Lady Bow, blue overalls, a yellow tie and a blue magic rod.

**Toad** : I can't believe it ! This challenge is so easy, it will be a piece of cake !

He hastily put the tags on the items, and left through the door.

**Toad** : I wouldn't be surprised at all if I had all of them right.

* * *

Room 5 : Pauline

Pauline entered her room, amazed at its beauty. It was the first time she visited Pipetown, so she took her time before playing the challenge.

Pauline smiled as she picked her brown lipstick. "You're mine. Now, what do we have here ? Pink shoes, foundation cream...? Whatever, I should think about what kind of things the others would have taken with them."

**Pauline** : That's not really a suspenseful challenge, but it still is important if we want to add money to the pot. My goal is to win it all, so I should begin now.

The beautiful brown-haired lady started observing items and began to put an owner's name to certain things.

**Pauline** : Well, I have to be careful, but that's not like I can be one hundred percent sure that I'm right. That is, unless I'm the Mole? And, well, you will have to find it for yourselves...

* * *

Finally, the ten players met again Monty Mole in the hotel's lounge. The host nodded and went to check each of the rooms. During that time, the players conversed.

"This challenge was too hard ! I think I only found my item," grumbled Donkey Kong. Toad shrugged.

"I found it pretty easy actually... I wouldn't be surprised if all my guess were right."

Bootler asked them a question. "What do you think the surprise is ?"

Birdo raised an eyebrow. "How should we know it if that's a surprise ?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait," summed up Kooper.


	2. Giving the Cold Shoulder

Previously, on the Mole, the ten players of the game were revealed. Birdo, Bootler, Donkey, Noki, Jojora, Toad, Mario, Pauline, Toad and Flurrie. The game immediately started as they entered Pipetown : they had thirty minutes to learn more about their rivals. After those thirty minutes, Monty Mole called them for their first challenge, the 'Mixed-Up Possessions' during which they had to pair up an item with a tag on which was written a player's name. Now, Monty Mole is going to announce the first challenge's results. Will they succeed ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

**First name : Kooper**

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

* * *

2 : Giving the Cold Shoulder.

The players were impatiently waiting for their host to finish his thing, siting on comfy chairs in the Moonlight Hotel's lounge. Monty Mole was taking an awfully long time to check the players' guesses, so they were getting more and more impatient by the minute.

"What's taking him so long ? That shouldn't be hard to see if we're right or wrong !" complained vehemently Donkey Kong. The ape was not the only one bored. Noki was showing signs of nervousness.

**Noki** : Waiting is something I'm not used to. As an air hostess, I always have to do something to please our customers, so it was kind of difficult to stay here doing nothing at all. Donkey's and Jojora's behaviors didn't help either.

"You better have not taken any exemption at all !" threatened Jojora. Flurrie gulped.

Mario tried to calm down everyone. "Come on, I'm sure Monty Mole is nearly finished, no need to be angry." Birdo nodded.

"He's right guys, it has already been ten minutes after all, he shouldn't be long now."

"Relax while you can," advised Bootler. "I have a feeling that everything will change after this challenge's results." Kooper raised an eyebrow but did not make any comment.

**Kooper** : The way Bootler acts and talks makes me think that he's hiding something. He always makes strange remarks about the game, as if he knows what will happen next. I'll keep an eye on him. Just because he's old doesn't mean he can't be the Mole.

"Look ! There he is !" exclaimed Toad happily.

"It was about time," grumpily muttered Donkey.

Pauline saw that Monty Mole was carrying bags. "Mmmh... What are you doing with these ?"

"I will just let you have them, as a reward for your awesome work," winked the host. The contestants looked puzzled and did not know whether he was ironic or whether he was not, so they chose to remain silent. "We will all go to room number one, Jojora was here for your information," he told them.

* * *

"Jojora, will you please come with me ? So everyone will see what item you gave them ?" Jojora nodded and accompanied Monty Mole. "Jojora messed up on some things, but she did label correctly five out of ten items, so she adds one thousand coins to the team pot. Now, you can take your item."

As Birdo was reaching for her diamond ring, Monty Mole interrupted her. "No, no ! I said : 'You can take your item.'. This is not yours but Flurrie's."

"What are you talking about ? I know that's mine, I put it in my luggage," contested a confused Birdo.

"Or is it ? Your name isn't on it, so it isn't yours. You have the purple eyeshadow, Jojora put your name on it after all."

"Are you kidding me ?" asked a more than disappointed Birdo. Her face dropped as she saw that Monty Mole was serious.

"You have to take the item Jojora thought was yours, obviously," smiled the host at the dumbfounded players' faces.

"Why did you gave me Bootler's towel ?" questioned Noki.

Jojora shrugged. "I thought Bootler had the journal because he's old, you know. Maybe he would like to write his memories, I thought."

"But it had my name on the first page," pointed Noki. Jojora put her hand to her mouth.

"I didn't open it. I never considered it, actually."

**Toad** : Noki made a good point. Jojora is the kind of player who doesn't really care about the others' feelings, so I expected her to at least take a glance at the journal. That's very suspicious.

Then, the little group moved to room number two, Toad's room. Toad went with Monty Mole while the host was explaining what he did.

"Toad did great, but unfortunately, he only found eight items out of ten, so he will not make you entirely win the game. However, he did win two thousand coins for the team !" applauded Monty Mole.

"That's particularly funny. I don't remember bringing a fan with me," declared Flurrie.

Pauline's reaction wasn't similar, however. "Toad, next time watch what you're doing. I mean, look at this dress ! You can fit three Pauline in here, and I'm being nice."

**Pauline** : Toad's mistake didn't make any sense in my mind. Okay, that's indeed a red dress, but it's huge ! So huge that I can't believe it's a mistake.

**Flurrie** : My, my ! I hope the others found my belongings ! I can't live without my precious jewels.

The team opened room number three's door, where Mario had tried to label the things the others had brought with them.

"Just like Toad, Mario will only add two thousand coins while he could have won the full twenty thousand."

"Which things did I got wrong ?"

"You mixed up Jojora's and Noki's item."

"Well, they were both blue, and since Noki lives on Delphino Island, I thought she wouldn't need a sailor sunhat," explained Mario.

"Actually I'm kinda glad you messed up, I will probably need it," told him Jojora.

"And I kind of like your dress," tried Noki.

"Let's go to room number four," ordered the host. The players followed him, and Noki stayed at his side. "Noki was close too, too bad she didn't made it. Two players' possessions were inverted."

"I like these gold bangles, there are...?" asked Jojora.

"There are mine," answered calmly Flurrie. "I have to say that your tiara's not so bad either."

Jojora smiled. "Maybe I misjudged you..."

**Mario** : What I find funny is that the girls' belongings were the reason why we were wrong most of the time. Maybe it isn't just a coincidence.

"Let's go to my room, number five," suggested Pauline. They made their way toward Pauline's room, and searched for any errors.

"She got five guesses right out of ten, so she won you and additional one thousand coins," announced Monty Mole. Many players were disappointed in Pauline's performance.

**Kooper** : I'll admit that I kind of expected more than that from her. She seems very calm and collected, but maybe it's just an act.

"Moving on to the sixth room, Bootler's one !" stated clearly Monty Mole. Everybody followed him, but Bootler was lagging behind, knowing that he did poorly in this challenge.

**Bootler** : I'm a butler, Lady Bow's butler to be more exact. My job requires extreme attention to little things, I will admit it. But I am not, and I will repeat it, I am not a fortune teller. This challenge just was not made for me, as I am not some kind of fortune teller.

"Bootler found four items out of ten, so he will add one thousand coins to the pot." Bootler shook his head, seeing the disappointed faces of the competitors.

**Birdo** : Needless to say, Bootler's performance was a let down for all of us.

After that, the group went to Kooper's room, number seven.

"How well did I do ?" asked an impatient Kooper. Monty Mole smiled.

"You did well, but it wasn't enough. You mixed up Flurrie's and Bootler's items."

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to intrude your conversation, but aren't those woman's shades ?"

"Maybe," responded Donkey. "Or maybe I just don't care. Let's continue, it's getting boring." Monty Mole nodded and led them into room eight, Birdo's room.

"Birdo correctly identified nine items out of ten," started the host.

"How is that even possible ?" retorted Toad. "Even if you make one mistake, two items should be wrongly labeled."

Monty Mole confirmed. "That's right. But when I went to verify, I noticed she forgot to label her own item. I'm sorry, but this mistake counts, so Birdo adds two thousand coins to the pot."

**Donkey** : Basically Birdo could have made us won, but she screwed up. She raises very high on my suspects' list.

"Let's go to Donkey's room, number ten," directed the host.

Mario reminded them of something. "What about Flurrie and her room ?"

"We'll get to that later," assured them Monty Mole. Donkey Kong led the group and held the door for everyone to enter.

"What do you think of what you did Donkey ?"

"I did terrible," confessed the ape. Monty Mole nodded.

"You only got two items right, so no money will be awarded for your work." Some players groaned knowing fully that Donkey did not even try.

**Toad** : I'm not even sure he thought about it at least one second.

"And now, here comes the big news !" grinned the host. "Flurrie, could you tell us what you did during the game ?"

"Alright, I'll confess !" dramatically yelled the actress. "I saw something telling me that I could win an exemption if I was to sacrifice three thousand coins from the team pot... I took it, I'm really sorry," apologized Flurrie.

"What a great start," commented Pauline while rolling her eyes.

Bootler shook his head. "I guess it couldn't be helped, it's in our nature to be greedy."

"Anyway," proceeded the host, "when she took the exemption, Flurrie sacrificed the ten items in the room, you will never see them ever again."

"WHAT ?" yelled in shock the ten players.

"Don't 'What' me Flurrie ! You agreed to exchange our belongings against your stupid exemption ! You knew what would happen ! Now you will pay the price fat cow !" screamed an unnerved Jojora.

"I swear ! I wasn't aware !" cried Flurrie.

"You can shove your **** exemption down your throat for all I care !" shouted Donkey.

"Anyway, you won eight thousand coins, not so bad for a first challenge !" tried to lighten the mood Monty Mole.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 11 000 – 3 000 = 8 000

Team Pot : 8 000 coins.

"Whatever, I'm outta here," declared Donkey as he threw his hands into the air.

Jojora followed. "Fresh air will do me good."

One after another, the players left the room. Some did not even cast a glance at Flurrie as they left, while others gave her apologetic smiles.

**Noki **: I felt bad for Flurrie, she seemed to be truthful when she said she wasn't aware of such a twist. And well, it's the Mole. Anything can happen anytime... Jojora shouldn't have told her all of these things... Oh, but just because I sympathize with her doesn't mean I think she isn't the Mole.

"Why can't I have normal players for once ?" complained Monty Mole.

* * *

The players had the rest of their day off, so they departed in different directions. Flurrie stayed in the hotel not wanting to go out after the recent outburst of Donkey and Jojora. Everyone but a small party consisting of Toad, Birdo, Noki and Kooper scattered in Pipetown.

"Only day one and things are already hectic," reminded them the mushroom.

"Don't tell me about it ! I didn't thought the fights in the game were that hard. Usually, I was just laughing at the players' stupidity, but now I know I won't laugh anymore." Birdo was hit with realization.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot you already played the game before !"

Noki corrected her. "No, he only helped preparing the game."

"That's right. During the first season, we also had a few fight, mostly between Rosalina and Draka. In the second season, we only had one between Gamble and Angelina. The second season was funny because the players were always launching barbs at each other ! Ah, good times..."

Birdo giggled. "You're talking as if you were an old person !" Noki sighed deeply.

"You okay ?" asked her Toad. Noki looked at him sadly.

"It's just... We're here laughing and at the same time, Flurrie is probably depressed because everyone hates her." Birdo nodded slowly.

"I know the feeling. It's not your fault but you can't do anything but to feel guilty. I really thought she didn't deserve it." Toad simply smiled.

"Maybe... Maybe she should go, to see her ? She will probably be happy to see us."

"Yeah... But I think she's the Mole," hesitantly cut in Kooper.

"Nobody asks you to think she is a normal player, we will just tell her that we don't hate her, then maybe we will make a few jokes, just to lighten the atmosphere, you know ?" explained the mushroom boy.

**Toad** : My intention isn't to sound mean to anybody, but when Kooper told us he suspected Flurrie to be the Mole, I found that dumb. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, but we are in a competition. If he tells everyone what he thinks, he won't last long.

* * *

This noon, during dinner, all the players were reunited around the table, eating their meals together. Jojora and Donkey were still a little upset about the incident from before, but they tried not to show it. Flurrie herself seemed livelier than before, certainly because Birdo, Kooper, Noki and Toad visited her this afternoon.

"So..." began Monty Mole, "We are finally reunited, like a big family !" Donkey sent him a nasty glare.

"Well, you could say that. After all, we are going to be together for a long time," smiled Pauline.

Toad looked up from his plate and joined the conversation. "Yeah ! We'll all learn things about each other as the time will pass !" Jojora cringed.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"Monty Mole, you don't happen to have something important to tell us or to give us, do you ?" wondered Bootler, his fork resting against his plate

"Why, you are very right Bootler ! I have your journals ! In these, you will be able to write your thoughts about who you think is the Mole. They will probably be your best friends in this show."

"I doubt it," winked Birdo at Noki.

**Mario** : Bootler seriously surprises me. Whenever he says something strange, Monty Mole announces us that something will happen, or he gives us directions or things, like the journals. In my mind, I think that even an obvious Mole can be the Mole of this game show.

**Bootler** : I remarked that whenever Monty Mole was starting a conversation, it was not uninterested. This time too he said something out of the blue, and in the end, he gave us the journals. I am just being myself, an intelligent and observant old Boo.

Strangely enough, the players all took the journal which had the same number written on it as the door they faced only hours ago.

"Wait, wait, wait !" stopped them Monty Mole as some players began to leave. "You have to share a room with someone ! You can choose the person with who you will share the room, obviously."

"I'm taking room thirteen, who wants to room with me ?" asked Toad as he picked a key.

"Not me, I'm rooming with Noki," responded Birdo. The two girls took the key opening the fourteenth room's door and left.

"Let's go Jojora !" advised Donkey Kong as he took room number eleven, while Toad was joined by Kooper.

"I'm going with you buddy !" finally answered the Koopa. Toad and him exchanged a high-five and left the last four together. Pauline smiled at Mario flirtatiously. He gave a blink in response.

"Come on Mario ! It will be just like the old days !" pleaded Pauline.

Mario sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright, you won dollie ! Just remember that's the past is the past." She rolled her eyes.

"I knew that already." They friendly bickered and went to room twelve.

"Well, room fifteen, here we go !" cheered the cloud spirit, glad she was with someone who could understand her.

Bootler gave her a positive response. "I say, we better go now if we want to be fresh for tomorrow."

**Flurrie **: I'm glad Bootler didn't make any remark about the other time. He is such a gentleman !

* * *

In room 11, Jojora and Donkey were talking quietly among themselves. They were already conversing about their suspects and such things.

**Jojora** : Although I like Donkey Kong, I won't let him stand in my way of getting the coins. The more confused everyone will be, the more easy it will be to earn the victory.

"So, who do you suspect ?" casually questioned Donkey.

Jojora thought about it a little and gave him an answer. "I have my obvious suspicions on Flurrie because it looked like she was putting an act when we kind of went overboard."

"How does it point to her being the Mole, though ?" inquired Donkey as he raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it that way, the Mole has to be good at hiding stuff. Flurrie is an actress, she can perfectly hide her true motives behind a facade. You get my point ?"

"Yeah. But I also suspect Pauline. Something's just fishy about her. She labeled correctly only five items out of five and didn't really take the blame since all eyes were on Flurrie. She looked as if she didn't care about our belongings."

"Yeah... Dang that's just too hard pinpointing the Mole at the stage of the game !" shouted a frustrated Jojora.

* * *

Room 12 welcomed Mario, Pauline and their luggage. Mario immediately slumped onto his bed, tired after such a day. The brown-haired woman laughed.

"You are already that tired ? I'm sure that even Bootler isn't having any difficulties at the moment."

Mario sighed. "I know, it's just this game... It's really pumping all of my energy. And it's only the first day, ugh."

Pauline put her hands on her hips. "You'll see, you will get the hand of this, in a few days you will forget all about the game's tiring aspect. Say, what do you think about this Mole-thingy...? Got any clue ?" innocently threw in Pauline.

**Mario** : I know Pauline, she always gets what she wants by acting like that. I mean, she knows how to play the game. She can be a great ally...as she can be your worst enemy, it all depends of your point of view. I'm not suspecting anyone at the moment though. I think tomorrow's mission will be more significant than this one because we will certainly see what the other players did with our very eyes.

* * *

Toad and Kooper were already engaged in a friendly talk as they entered their room.

**Kooper** : Toad is a fun and nice guy, really. I hope we will go far, and who knows, maybe I'll ask him about a secret alliance ? Just joking, it's way too early to think about that.

The jumpy Toad put his clothes on his bed and watched carefully every corner of the room. "It's so awesome here ! I could live here forever ! Can you believe that we were chosen over hundred of players ?" exclaimed excitedly the mushroom boy.

Kooper chuckled. "Well, personally, I can. However I'm a little disappointed to see that my professor didn't make the cut..."

"Your...professor ?"

Kooper opened his suitcase. "Yep. Professor Kolorado, you might have already heard about him, he's pretty famous after all. He is an archeologist."

"Wait, you know the famous Mario, you know the famous Monty Mole, you know the famous Kolorado... Who else do you know ?"

"I have a close friend of mine, her name is Bombette. She won a game going-" Toad interrupted him.

"Wouldn't it be the Shroob Threat ? Because there was a girl named Bombette. She was playing low on the first days, but in the end, she waited for Gardevoir to reveal herself so they would eliminate my close ally, Peach, a Shroob. Then during the night I eliminated her, because she was the Neutral, or the Amanita as they call it in this game but Gardevoir also found me out because I sided with Peach. That was really well-played on her part !" recalled Toad.

"You see I'm not the only lucky one !" told him Kooper.

* * *

Birdo and Noki, the two kindred spirits of the game, joked as they entered the room fourteen. Both shared many things in common, so it was only natural for them to feel like their were at home.

"You know, maybe I will ask Jojora if I can keep her blue dress, it's really pretty," truthfully stated Noki.

"I bet it would look good on you. I just hope Flurrie won't want to keep my ring... They're all unique in the world, you know ?"

"Yes, plus they're pretty big... They must have cost you a fortune, haven't they ?"

"They did," replied Birdo. "You know, I think I'll probably not sleep tonight. I'm so excited about tomorrow ! What will we do ? What will the Mole do ? Will I pass the first questionnaire ? My head is so full of unanswered questions..."

"Well, I can relate to that. But try to sleep, we need to be in a great shape tomorrow if we want to win the challenge."

"Don't worry, I will."

* * *

In room fifteen, Flurrie was not feeling comfortable, she had not succeeded to establish a contact with Bootler yet.

"Hmmm..." tried the floating cloud spirit.

"Yes, what is it young lady ?"

"N-nothing, sorry !" apologized Flurrie.

**Flurrie** : I'm really not fit for these kind of things. Usually, people bow before me and now, I'm the one who has to crawl before another individual. I shouldn't have taken this exemption... Oh well, whatever. I'm safe for this round anyway.

"You do not need to force yourself to give us apologies if you were not informed of such an event," pronounced Bootler.

Flurrie smiled. "Maybe I'm not the most humble person, but I would have never taken this exemption had I known it involved such a twist. I may be selfish, but I am not that egoistical."

"I understand. Good night Flurrie." The actress looked puzzled.

**Flurrie** : It wasn't much, but I knew we reached a common ground. Bootler is a strange person, but I realized that he had many good qualities ; he is smart, understanding, logical, and he stays in the background. He will be a fierce competitor, despite his age, I know it.


	3. Trouble Ahoy !

Previously, on the Mole, the ten players discovered the results of their first challenge, and with that, they started to think about the saboteur's identity. A few mishaps occurred during the Mixed Up Luggage mission, notably Birdo forgetting to label her own item, Flurrie choosing an exemption and deliberately losing three thousand coins for the team and Donkey Kong failing miserably. After a good night of sleep, the ten players will try to win their second mission. What will it be ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

**First name : Kooper**

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

* * *

3 : Trouble Ahoy !

Kooper was the first one awoken this morning. He quickly took a shower put some clothes on, and walked to the door, opening it with almost no noise in order to not disrupt Toad's sleep. He then made his way to the dining room to eat a little something, when his eyes gazed at something put on the dining table.

"What's this...?" he wondered as his arm reached it. It was a normal letter, nothing was special about it, and yet, he thought it was important. He decided to open it, paying no attention to the warning placed beside it.

Kooper smiled. "Sweet ! I got myself a '+1' for the next quiz !" Kooper giddily hid the envelope in his pocket and sat at the table, as if nothing happened.

**Kooper** : A '+1' is like an exemption, only less powerful, so I guess you can understand why I'm so happy about it ! Maybe it isn't fair that I won it without doing anything, but, heh, who cares ?

One after another, the players all came down the stairs to sit with Kooper and to eat their breakfast. Mario immediately noticed the absence of their host.

"Does anyone know where Monty Mole is ?"

Donkey grunted. "Why would we care about him ? He can take care of himself."

Mario frowned. "Oh shut up, I didn't ask you to be that rude. If you don't want to answer, you don't answer, it's as simple as that. No need to be an a-"

Bootler interrupted them as he cleared his throat. "Now now, no need to be rude my friends, as you said it Mario. I am also quite interested as to why our host isn't here... Does that mean that we have another free day ?" Kooper laughed.

"I wouldn't count on it. Knowing the producers, I can tell you that something unexpected will happen very soon..."

"HELLO !" screamed Monty Mole at the top of his lung, which startled greatly the players who screamed in their turn, making Monty Mole laugh. "I love my job."

"Thank goodness I'm used to your sudden appearances," sighed Kooper while rolling his eyes.

"Gosh, could you stop doing that ? That's incredibly annoying if you know what I mean," yelled an aggravated Jojora.

"Well, I was just being polite-"

"And annoying," confirmed Donkey.

"Anyway," quickly started Monty Mole, once again choosing the easy way to escape the players' complaints, "I just wanted to tell you that I had some outfits prepared for your next mission which will begin as soon as you will be finished with your breakfast."

"Huh ? We will disguise ourselves ?" questioned an incredulous Birdo. "That seems like a fun challenge !"

"Hmmm, not really Birdo, not really. But I will let you discover it."

Soon, everyone was finished with his breakfast, and Monty Mole led them outside the hotel.

* * *

"So, where are we going exactly ?" asked Flurrie as she and the others where following Monty Mole into Pipetown.

"As some of you already know," began Monty Mole, "Pipetown is the center of communication of many lands with Pipe Square. While Pipe Square links many worlds, Pipetown only links together the Party World. I think some of you might have heard about it, haven't you ?"

Pauline shook negatively her head. "I'm sure I haven't."

"As a matter of fact, I do," declared Toad. "And I'm sure Donkey and Mario are familiar with it too. Remember ? We went there during our second party."

"You are right Toad. But what you guys probably don't know is that Pipetown can let you go in each of the Party Worlds. Let's say, for example, that you want to go to Mystery Land. You only have to locate Gate Two in Pipetown, enter it, and then you will have to find another pipe which will lead you to Mystery Land. This is some sort of giant web, actually," explained Monty Mole.

**Noki** : So basically, Mario, Toad, Donkey and Kooper all have an advantage in this game. That's really unfair...

The little group made his way toward Gate Two and entered it. A few moments later, they were arrived to the hall of Mario Party 2.

"Now, let me explain you a few things," told them the Mole.

"What ? Again ?" exclaimed a surprised Flurrie.

"Yeah, I know, I talk too much. During most of our games, you guys will be provided with disguises, in order for the show to look 'hip' and to raise our audience ratings."

"One, I'm really not sure it will look hip, and two, I hope that's not live broadcasting. If it is, you will look like an idiot," bluntly threw in Jojora.

"What did I do ? Ugh... Well, whatever. When we will enter the warp pipe, you will see a locker room. Logically, you should find clothes, I want you to wear them for the challenge, okay ? Once you are ready, you just have to join up with me at the end of the pipe. There I will tell you what the challenge is."

**Mario** : Wearing this costume made me feel like we were having another party ! Ah, good times, good times.

**Bootler** : I never wore any costume before. I was actually fun to wear these kind of clothes... I hope I didn't make a fool of myself in front of national television...

* * *

"Aye Aye Captains !" greeted them Monty Mole.

Blank.

Jojora and Donkey were already annoyed, while the others were giggling because of their faces. "Never do it again," only begged Donkey.

"Geez, why can't you take a joke ?" inquired Kooper.

"Please, a joke has to be funny."

**Birdo** : I'm kinda tired of Jojora's and Donkey's interruptions. I mean, we could be playing the game right now, but nooo, they have to be totally mean and stupid.

"Whatever. Could you please tell us more about the challenge ?" asked Pauline. "Surely, we won't stay here complaining all day long, will we ?"

Monty Mole nodded. "Alright everyone, your next mission is named "Treasure Hunters". You will be divided in five groups of two persons and additionally, you will be paired up with your roommate."

"Awesome !" cheered both Birdo and Noki. The others were also pleased.

"The five groups will have one hour to retrieve a paper, hidden behind many obstacles. In one hour, I will bring to to a place where the treasure is. With all the information you will have found, you will try to discover where the treasure is hidden. Any question ?"

Toad raised his hand. "Isn't it a little too easy ? I mean, the first mission seemed more hard than this one..."

"Oh, but don't worry, it will be difficult, since groups may fail retrieving the clues. If they fail, they won't be able to help you during your search. Last advice : Stay close, yet far to each other. You can choose the area you will investigate and I will provide you with maps. Any other question ? No ? Then we will start."

Monty Mole pointed toward a table on which were placed five maps. Jojora and Donkey were the first to choose. They picked Pirate Town. Next were Birdo and Noki who chose Chomp Jail. Flurrie and Bootler were headed toward the jungle while Toad and Kooper had to go to the Shy Guy Pirate Boat. This left Mario and Pauline with the Skull Cavern.

**Jojora** : I'm happy to be with Donkey Kong but at the same time I'm a little disappointed, because I think he isn't the Mole and that I will be disadvantaged.

**Donkey** : Game on, Mole !

* * *

Jojora and Donkey had chosen the location the nearest from their starting starting point, so they obviously arrived before all of the other groups. Donkey was leading the way, but both of them were really clueless on what to do.

"Well... Monty Mole wasn't really specific, huh ?"

"You can say that... Let's try to find someone who can help," suggested the big ape.

Jojora thought about it. "I'm not sure... Maybe nobody's here so if we search for someone, we could be wasting time."

"So... What's your plan ?"

"I say we look into the houses first." Donkey agreed, and so they walked toward the nearest house. Jojora tried to open it, but it was locked. After that, Donkey sent a punch but it didn't bulge. He was about to charge a punch, but Jojora warned him about something and he ducked.

"What was that ?" he yelled at no one in particular. The only response he received was a blue ball flying right at him. They both chose to run out of the town to think about this mystery.

**Donkey** : This was crazy ! I mean, these blue balls were targeting us for no reason at all ! Who knows what could have happened if we had gotten hit ? But still something wasn't quite right with the challenge...

It was only five minutes later that Donkey realized that something was written on the back of his map.

_Your goal is to find which key opens which door. The first key is waiting you at the top of the town's fountain. Beware of the blue balls ! If you get hit, the other will have to splash you with the fountain's water. If you are both hit by blue balls, then you lost your part of the challenge._

"Well that's just great !" complained Jojora. Donkey also displayed a look of uncertainty.

"Let's run as fast as we can !" ordered the simian figure. They both sprinted toward the fountain and made it safe and sound. Jojora noticed the key, and Donkey carried her since they couldn't reach it.

"Got it !" she smiled at her partner. "Hey, let's try this one," she offered.

**Jojora** : I really think Donkey isn't the Mole. Hopefully, I won't be eliminated because of that. He is one of the few people that I actually respect in this show.

* * *

Toad and Kooper just departed from the group of eight. They saw a rope which was holding the boat in place, so they jumped on it and made their way carefully to the bridge. Being small and nimble, the two individuals succeeded easily.

_Your goal is to reach the captain's cabin. If people see you, they might chase you until you lose them in the boat. Be careful, during your escape you might run into more guards. If one of you is captured, the other can save him or her by going into the bottom of the boat. If both of you are captured, you lose your part of the challenge._

**Toad** : Our part is pretty easy, I doubt we will fail, really. We are small, fast and agile. How could it be better than this ? If we lose, I will really think a little more about Kooper's place in the game. Even if he is the Mole, I doubt he will sabotage, though, because then it would be a little too obvious.

"So, where do you suppose the cabin is ?"

Kooper shrugged. "The ship isn't too big, so I think we will find it easily... We should probably start with the interior of the boat though." Toad nodded and they both pushed the door, only to be meet with guards. Kooper and Toad ran toward the bridge to escape, and hid behind crates.

**Kooper** : Our task may be simple but only in appearances since we have to trick people with super stealth skills... And I don't know about Toad, but I don't possess such skills.

"Okay, let's be a little more careful this time around !" shouted Toad as he and Kooper went to the door. Toad signaled Kooper to stay behind him, and opened the door. As soon as he heard the Shy Guy coming, he threw a rock behind him and Kooper. The Shy Guy thought the rock was thrown from the other side, so they started chasing nobody. Toad and Kooper silently entered the next area and did a high-five.

"Let's move carefully," advised Toad as he led the way.

**Kooper** : Actually, thinking about it, Toad may possess super stealth skills.

The mushroom and the turtle proceeded to advance carefully toward the captain's cabin, but soon Shy Guy located them and start chasing them. While they were hiding, Toad devised a plan.

"Look, how about you try to lure them while I search for the captain's cabin ? You'll have to be fast yet slow enough not to lose them."

"Great plan !" smiled Kooper.

* * *

Next to arrive to their location were Pauline and Mario. Skull Cavern being very dark, they were provided with flashlights. The two former lovers were headed toward the deepest parts of the cavern, so they lost no time in preparing themselves.

_Your goal is to retrieve the clue from the cavern's walls. Be careful though, shining rocks reflecting light Shroob's color skin might deceive you more than they will help you. Their goal is to sabotage your hard work, so avoid them as much as you can._

"Well, let's go, we have to inspect every single stone if we want to win this challenge !" ordered Pauline.

"I wonder..."

"Mmmh ? What are you thinking about ?"

"Nothing !"

**Mario** : Actually, I was wondering why the task was as simple as that. Toad and Kooper had to infiltrate a boat full of sailors, and all we have to do is to examine some stones ? Something's strange.

Mario was lagging behind, so Pauline took the initiative to touch one of the stone. As soon as her hand met the hard rock, she began to be stuck to it. "Mario ? I could use a little help right now..."

"I'm coming, I'm coming !" he yelled as he approached the place where Pauline was. "What did you do exactly ?" asked a baffled Mario.

"I tried to put the stone out of the wall but it didn't work and now I'm, like, glued to this very wall !" explained an annoyed Pauline.

"Oh no ! We should have paid more attention to our directions !" said Mario in realization. "Look, this sheet of paper told us that purple stones would be slowing us down !"

"Yeah, that's great, but how about you find something to help me out ? I don't want to stay here forever !" Suddenly, Pauline's hand was released from the wall. "Well, that's convenient."

"Let's hurry, we are wasting valuable time !" exclaimed Mario as he ran deeper into the Skull Cavern.

* * *

Flurrie and Bootler arrived to the Jungle Part of Pirate Land shortly after Mario and Pauline arrived at their location. They wished luck to Birdo and Noki and read one more time what they had to do. An obstacle course was awaiting them behind giant leafs. Their task was simple : they had to complete the course. If one of them was to fail one part of the challenge, the other could help him or her. But if both of them were to fail, then they would lose their part of the game.

Bootler was beginning to be nervous. "I am not sure I am in a good shape to do this... This seems risk and dangerous." Flurrie only laughed.

"Let's see the bright side : we are floating beings, so we won't really be tired after this. I personally think it will be a piece of cake !" Bootler looked strangely at Flurrie.

**Bootler** : One day she is just desperate to be forgiven by everyone, and the other she is just coming back to her usual self. Something is telling me that what she did yesterday was just plain fake. I will follow her every moves from now on.

"Wow... I didn't expect it to be that easy," remarked Flurrie as she was floating above a rope. Bootler was following her and could not refute her statement.

**Flurrie** : We weren't cheating, because our floating bodies float. They don't fly, so we still had to be careful. But obviously it was more easy to balance ourselves on the rope.

"I have to say, we sure picked the right map !" smiled Flurrie.

"Indeed."

**Bootler** : What alerts me about Flurrie, is that she makes good choices over good choices. Remember yesterday ? She was the first one to choose an envelope and she ultimately made us lose three thousands coins because she wanted an exemption. Her wanting an exemption could make us think she isn't the Mole and that she really is a legitimate player, but that would be a great cover-up.

They were making progress, and soon reached a stop. They had to jump over some metal bar which was placed over three meters high. Bootler was clearly not amused by that.

"Did they expect us to be athletes ?" Flurrie pointed at something hidden behind a giant leaf.

"Look ! We can use this trampoline !"

* * *

Finally, after half an hour of walking, Birdo and Noki arrived at the Chomp Jails. Unlike the other teams, they were not really happy nor confident. They only had thirty minutes to accomplish their task.

**Birdo** : If I had known that the Chomp Jails were so far away, I think I would have run instead of walking the entire way here. Now we are in a hurry, and everyone knows that you tend to do stupid things when you are stressed out.

"I hope it won't be too hard," wished Birdo as Noki read one more time their instructions.

"Your goal is to reach the end of the cavern where sleeps a golden Chomp named Charz. But to reach him, you will have to not get caught by the sleepy Chomp who are all over the place. If both of you are caught, you will lose your part of the challenge. Basically we have to be very quiet," summed up Noki. Birdo looked into the jail's inside a moment, and decided to head toward their goal.

As soon as they entered the jail, they were dumbfounded by what they saw. One hundred or so Chomp were sleeping peacefully on the floor. The two girls also saw that they could climb to some walls if they wanted to escape the Chomp they would wake up.

"How can we do that ? That's impossible !" muttered Noki, watching the endless sea of Chomp. "We have to maneuver our way carefully or else we will lose."

"Yeah, but we don't have any time to waste so, we'll have to be relatively fast," admitted Birdo.

The two girls were not making much noise as they were walking, but they were not making many progress either.

"Where is this gold Chomp ?" asked Noki at no one in particular. The girls were totally clueless at that moment.

Birdo pointed forward. "I think he is awaiting us at the very end of the jail... So, maybe he is still far away from here..."

* * *

"Aaaaah !" shrieked Jojora, barging into a house to escape the shoots coming from behind her and Donkey Kong. "That was so close..."

"I didn't know it would be so hardcore !" commented the strong ape. "So what do we have now ? Another key ? I thought it would be over already !" He looked around the house and quickly noticed the presence of a key hanging up in the air, above a wardrobe. He easily retrieved it and the pair looked at their surroundings.

"Okay, so we have nothing to protect ourselves... Should we just run to the nearest house or should we think about it a little more ?" questioned the blue fairy. After a few seconds, they settled on option one.

The two partners opened the door and instantly ran toward their right, hoping they would reach the house before behind touched. They did reach it, but their key wasn't opening the house and two blue balls were coming their way. Donkey acted as a shield and protected Jojora from the balls, but he was then frozen solid.

"Donkey !" yelled desperately Jojora. She had a choice to make. She could either save him or continue alone. She thought about it and made her decision.

**Jojora** : Maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe it wasn't. I wasn't thinking clearly anyway, but I had to make a choice. I just hoped it was all for the best...

* * *

**Toad** : I think I'm lost... This boat was much bigger than I expected it to be.

The mushroom boy was struggling to find his way to the captain's cabin. Without Kooper besides him, he was feeling less confident than before. He advanced through the things which were spread out, surely because of Kooper during his flee, and found out that he was just going into circles. Fearing that he was nearly out of time, Toad began to run faster than before. He almost tripped on a Shy Ghy but recovered and zoomed by him.

"Huh ? I don't remember going in here..."

He continued to walk toward a new corridor, but soon heard some noise coming from the other hand. He recognized Kooper, so he quickly decided to hide in a room. Question was... Which one ?

* * *

"I don't want to say, but our task isn't really exciting, Mario," sighed Pauline as she rubbed her temples. "It's so boring..."

"Oh don't worry, it will be exciting soon, unfortunately," noted Mario strangely. Pauline raised her eyebrow.

**Pauline** : Mario kept on saying weird things while we were in the cavern, I still wonder why. Did he know something I wasn't aware of ? I couldn't be certain, but something sure was off.

"Oh, great, just great !" groaned Mario. "The battery is dying on us !"

"Are you kidding me ?" inquired Pauline as she rushed in Mario's direction. Mario was telling the truth, the battery was nowhere near full. "How do they expect us to win if we can't see anything ?"

"Err... We could still use the energy left parsimoniously, you know ?" suggested Mario. Pauline looked at him incredulously.

"And how are we going to do that ?"

Mario was confident. He flashed the light during five seconds and memorized his surroundings. He took Pauline's hand and led her into the maze. "We'll do it that way."

"Hopefully we still have time..."

* * *

Bootler and Flurrie had been through many obstacle and knew that they were nearing the end of the obstacle course. They were still confident about their chances of making it to the end before they ran out of time.

**Bootler** : We are not really the best players around here, physically speaking, of course. I am the oldest of the group, so it would be normal for me to fail these kind of challenges, but strangely I am doing just fine. If I did it, everyone can do it.

"Well, I have to say that I find us really awesome !" boasted the conceited Flurrie.

Bootler cleared his throat. "I wouldn't say it like that, but yes, we did great." They soon approached the final obstacle being a giant baobab. They had to climb it in order to claim the paper they deserved.

"It might be a problem," muttered Bootler. "Did you do some hiking before ?"

"I don't remember, but it shouldn't be too hard. Let's look at the bright side, we can take our time. And we can also help each other, so it will really be easy, or so I think," commented Flurrie.

"Your plan seems easy yet tempting, I say we go for it !" exclaimed Bootler.

The floating bodies put on some security harnesses and began to climb the enormous tree, motivated by the clue which was awaiting them at the top.

* * *

Still inside the Chomp Jails, Noki and Birdo had made progress and were now seeing a bright light, possibly emanating of Charz's skin color. They were fifty meters away when suddenly, Birdo slipped on a banana peel.

"Ow ! What's a banana peel is doing here ?" she spoke up a little too loudly. "Huh-oh !" Noki had time no time to save her as a Chomp woke up and caught Birdo in his mouth. "Eww ! Gross ! Let me go you silly dog !"

**Noki** : I was lost, Birdo was just taken away by the Chomp so quickly, I didn't know what to do. At that time, I wanted to save her, but I didn't know if that was the smarter choice... I was just waiting for someone to tell me what I had to do.

"Birdo !" yelled Noki, panicked. She was still standing at the same place she was when Birdo got captured.

"Noki, you have to win this challenge for us ! GO !" shouted Birdo before disappearing.

Noki gulped and started to run. Unfortunately for her, the ruckus had woken up more Chomp that were now staring at her...

"Here goes nothing !"


	4. A player Sails Home

Previously, on The Mole, Monty Mole had led the players toward their second challenge, taking place in Pirate Land of Mario Party 2. Divided into five pairs, the players had to work together to find a clue, which would help them in the second part of the challenge. Jojora and Donkey were into big trouble, being targeted by blue balls coming from everywhere. Noki and Birdo also were in a predicament, because Birdo had been caught by some Chomp, who were ready to pursue Noki. The team of Mario and Pauline, as well as the team of Toad and Kooper, were experiencing similar problems. However, the team of Flurrie and Bootler strangely found its mini-challenge really easy. Will they be victorious ? Will they be able to add twenty thousand coins to the pot ? Just watch and you will see.

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

**First name : Kooper**

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

* * *

4 : A Player Sails Home

Flurrie thought her task would be really easy. After a little while, she was starting to think otherwise. "Ugh, that's ruining my perfect nails ! I sincerely hope we're nearly finish or else I don't know what I'll do to Monty Mole once I see him again !"

Bootler shook his head, exasperated at his teammate's rant. "We are nearly finished. Look, we can see some leaves." Flurrie looked ecstatic and began to fasten her pace.

"Really ? Then, let's get a move on ! I can't wait to remove this stupid harness !" Bootler sighed.

**Bootler** : Flurrie is extremely loud. I guess that this is who she is, but still... Wouldn't she be a great Mole, causing drama wherever she goes ?

Finally, Bootler and Flurrie reached the top of the giant tree. There, they saw a paper attached to the finish line. Flurrie quickly snatched it and was very puzzled. On this paper was only one word, did they do all of this for nothing ?

"Well, I guess that's over... Right ?" questioned Flurrie.

"Maybe," shrugged Bootler. "Shall we go now that we retrieved our supposed clue ?"

"There's no need to stay here," admitted Flurrie. "Let's return to the place where we first departed."

* * *

Jojora was rushing toward the fountain, dodging oncoming blue balls, which, she now knew, were freezing players upon touching them. She dived into the cool water and took water, with the help of her bucket.

**Jojora** : I had taken my decision instinctively, but when I was in the fountain, I realized that it wasn't the smartest thing to do. Even if I was good at dodging the balls, it didn't mean that I was good at dodging the same balls while holding a bucket full of water...

"Now, should I just run toward Donkey, or should I be a little more sneaky ?" she pondered, still looking at Donkey. "I might as well give it a try," she motivated herself.

The blue fairy hopped out of the fountain and made a mad dash toward Donkey. She was successful and unfroze Donkey, but tripped on the water afterward.

"Crap !" she shouted just before she was frozen.

**Donkey** : I was just coming back to my senses, when I saw these freezing balls coming right at me at full speed. Needless to say that I didn't quite understand what was happening.

Donkey rose a finger up in the air, as if he was asking a question. "Can someone tells me what the-"

He did not have time to finish his sentence, a missile had touched him leading to the loss of their part of the challenge.

* * *

Mario and Pauline were still searching for the clue inside of the Skull Cavern. They were more and more annoyed and tired and the icing of the cake was that their flashlight was being less and less bright.

**Mario** : I can't believe they would give us a flashlight that doesn't have enough battery for the challenge. We really don't see a thing when we switch off the light ! And let's say that when we switch on the light...it doesn't really do much.

"Ow !" yelled Pauline as she bumped into a wall. "Mario, can you please do something about it ? It's really getting on my nerves !"

Mario was becoming a little agitated by that time. "Well, excuuuuuuuse me Princess ! Unfortunately, I can't do anything because I don't see a thing !"

"You can be so rude sometimes ! Thank goodness I've known you for a while, or else things wouldn't be pretty..."

They soon hit another wall and couldn't find a way out. "Well, that's just great !" mumbled Pauline. "It's a dead end !"

Mario thought about it. "You know... Maybe it isn't. Do you remember if we met an intersection or something on our way here ?"

"I'm sure we didn't. Can you tell me how it's relevant to our situation ?"

"That means that we reached the end of the cavern, and that the white stone we're looking for is somewhere on this wall... I guess," explained Mario, not so sure about his own reasoning.

Then, out of nowhere, he stumbled upon the rock they were searching. Immediately, a piece of paper fell of it, and the Skull Cavern was lightened thanks to a special device.

"Finally ! It took forever !"

* * *

Toad had just opened the wrong door. He was standing in front of a Shy Guy's crew, which did not looked pleased to see him. "Oh, errr... I guess I was misled ! So sorry guys, but I can't stay here, I have some kind of an appointment thingy... Yeah... So... Have a nice day !" he smiled kindly as he rushed toward the door.

By that time, Kooper was already gone, much to Toad's relief. The mushroom boy quickly opened another door, only to find himself in the Captain's Room. The captain nodded to himself and searched for Toad's and Kooper's clue. When he found it, he gave it to Toad and called his equipage back to his post. On his way to rejoin Kooper, Toad recalled something interesting he told us in an interview.

**Toad** : I found it totally strange that Kooper was luring the Shy Guy in this corridor. I mean, I'm sure he did come here more than one time and he would have only one reason to do so. If he was the Mole, he knew where was the captain, so maybe he did make some comings and goings on purpose, just so I would lose the challenge and be blamed by the others... That's only a supposition, but I doubt I will ignore it.

* * *

Noki was alone and was going at full speed toward Charz. Unfortunately, the Chomp were already near from her and it only took one slip on a banana peel for her to be captured by the round dogs. Birdo and her were captured, which meant that they had failed their part.

**Noki** : I'm really frustrated ! We were doing fine until we tripped on a banana peel ! Thinking about it, what was it doing here ? Chomp don't eat bananas as far as I know...

* * *

Three groups out of five returned to the rendezvous point. Disappointment could not be held when they saw which groups did not make it.

**Mario** : Funny, the loudest ones and the quietest ones were those who never finished their mission. I don't know why Birdo and Noki didn't make it but fear not, as I will investigate later. As for the big mouthed players, they're all talk, but no action. That doesn't surprise me, even though I'll put in my journal, next to their names : pitiful performance during challenges.

**Kooper** : So Birdo and Noki didn't make it ? That's strange, because I was expecting them to succeed since they're, you know, so tight and all... I have no comments about Jojora and Donkey... I know I shouldn't say this, but man, they do suck pretty badly !

**Flurrie** : Hmph. I definitely think that the players should step up their games if they want to survive the first episode. Oh well, I think things will dramatically change after the first execution.

"Well, well, well !" started an amused Monty Mole. "It seems that the six of you won your part of the mission, congratulations !" he felicitated them. "Now comes the second part of the challenge, much more harder than the first one. Piece together the clues you received, and find out where the chest containing the treasure is hidden !"

"What's your clue ?" asked casually Kooper. "Ours is 'yellow'. Not sure that it helps, though."

"Well, good boy, ours says 'ball'. It surely isn't so helpful either," responded Bootler.

"And we have 'big'. I really don't get it," sighed Pauline.

"We know for a fact that alone, they don't mean anything. But what if we were to combine them ? Let's see, what is big, yellow, and looks like a ball ?"

"I don't know, a big yellow ball, maybe ?" retorted Kooper. Mario shook his head.

"No, Toad is right. And I might also add that the answer must be either obvious or generic. So... Do you have an idea ? Because I figured out this whole thing," told them Mario.

"Well, Mister Braggart, would you mind shedding some light on our problem ?" retorted an annoyed Flurrie. Mario simply decided to ignore her.

"How about the sun ? The sun is something visible, it is a big yellow ball, and seems like a perfect answer," reasoned Toad.

Pauline raised an eyebrow. "I actually thought about it, but it doesn't really help us..."

"It was only the easy way, we could use the hard one," suggested Mario.

"I have to say, Mario, that I do not quite understand you," admitted Bootler.

"Look, it's highly unlikely that they put the chest some place we've already been just in case everyone would have cleared the first part of our game, because then some of us would have found the answer to this riddle easily. Do you get it ?" He received some nods from everyone. "Good. If my assumption is right, we can erase a few places of the list. Now, if we were to assume even more, we could possibly think that the clues could have a double meaning, correct ? So tell me. Where would you play with a ball ? Don't forget that it has to be a shiny area."

"If you are right, it can only means that the treasure is buried into the sandy beach !" yelled an excited Toad. "Let's go already !"

The four others were still puzzled, but decided to follow them.

**Pauline** : As much as I like him, Mario is too smart. It won't do me good if he stays too long in this game... I think I may trick him into believing that someone I think isn't the Mole is in reality the saboteur. My strategy is a mix of three things, the first one being deception...

* * *

The group of seven discovered a beautiful yellow beach illuminated by the Sun's light. The water was warm but the players did not take any time to have a swim. They were not forgetting their objective and were eager to add twenty thousand coins to their team pot, which was, unfortunately, rather low at the moment.

"Hey look ! Red crosses on the beach !" remarked Kooper as he pointed toward several red marks on the sandy area. "Do you think they put them for us ?"

Mario furrowed his eyebrows. "I really thought it would already over, but apparently it isn't... I wonder what we have to do..."

"I've an idea !" exclaimed Toad. "Maybe the marks should tell us where to dig to find the treasure ?"

"I thought as much, but how are we going to find the right one ? There's like, thirty of them !" moaned Pauline. As if one cue, Monty Mole spoke.

"You only have three chances ! Good luck !"

"Yeah, we will need some encouragements," thanked Flurrie. "Does anyone have an idea ?"

"I have one. The Sun is the center of everything. It even is the center of this very mission. I would suggest that we dig near the center of all the marks," intelligently explained Bootler.

The players agreed to his suggestion, and argued apropos of the center of the beach. After a rather short time, they decided to dig.

"Well, we were wrong."

"We already knew that Toad, thanks for pointing the obvious."

"So much for being nice yesterday," muttered a disgusted Toad. Suddenly, his face brightened as he thought of something else. "You know, the first part of the challenge was timed, so we have some kind of temporal mark... You probably also know for a fact that ancient civilizations were using the Sun as a guide and were measuring the time thanks to it."

"But of course ! You're such a genius Toad ! I totally forgot about that !" Kooper looked all over the place and retrieve a stick. "If we plant this stick on the sand, its shadow will lead us toward the treasure chest !" pursued the turtle.

"Okay, let's do it !"

The shadow of the stick was pointing to their left. They all proceed to walk toward the end of the shadow. "Hmm... Which one do we pick ? I mean, that's not really specific if you know what I mean," asked Pauline, confused at what was going on.

"I would say this one," chose Flurrie, pointing with her finger a red mark near them. "The shadow seems to stop right before it." The players agreed one more time and they dug, but never found the coins.

"That's becoming more and more irritating," grumbled Kooper.

"You are right," agreed Bootler. "Mario, would you help us ?"

"I'm afraid to disappoint you, but if I knew the answer I would have told you," answered truthfully Mario. Pauline decided to walk further down the beach, toward the water to refresh her mind while the others were thinking hard about the whole situation.

"Okay, I know this is our last chance, but what if the answer was really obvious ? So obvious that it would require us to think all day long about it, because it is in fact right in front of our noses ?"

"Please, we would gladly hear your idea," politely responded Bootler in a convincing tone.

Toad smiled. "We came to the beach with our feet, so it's only logical that we have taken the shortest path. The Sun is always above us, and you always see it in front of you. So, my guess is that the treasure is hidden at the very end of the beach, let's go !"

"You're right," quickly confirmed Flurrie. "We can't stay here all day long anyway, so we might as well give it a try." They moved on, toward their ultimate chance, leaving Pauline all by herself.

She was sitting, really tired after the long walk they had made before. Her outfit wasn't very comfortable either. "I hope we will win this challenge soon, I'm soo tired..." hoped the beautiful lady. "I wonder, what's on the other side of this sea...?" dreamily said Pauline. "The Sun would know it, since it always-" she abruptly stopped, her face showing realization. "Crap. Crap, Crap Crap !" she shouted.

Pauline got up extraordinary fast, and ran toward the other players. However, it was useless. As she was nearing them, she saw a look of defeat on their faces ; the challenge was already lost.

* * *

The ten players and Monty Mole were finally reunited before the entrance of the Warp Pipe which would lead them once again to Pipetown. They were looking particularly bitter after their recent loss.

"Anyone wants to make a guess about the treasure's location ?"

"It was the mark situated at the far right of the beach, right ?" answered by a question Pauline.

"Why yes it was !" responded a bewildered Monty Mole. "Too bad you didn't find it before. Your pot stays at eight thousand coins, for now."

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 0

Team Pot : 8 000 coins.

"Quite a few things happened during this mission, wouldn't you say so ? First, there was the failure of Jojora, Donkey, Birdo and Noki which handicapped you during the second part of the challenge."

"It was the bananas' fault !" snapped Birdo.

**Birdo** : Wow, I must have looked really dumb when I said that... Please, just tell me that they cut it before broadcasting it...

"Chomp don't eat bananas," reminded her Mario.

"W-well... I also slipped on a banana peel, but you are right, that's very strange..."

"Well, no wonder we didn't win, our part was by far the hardest of the five so don't try to put the blame on Donkey and me, or else I'll laugh at you and remind you by the way, that you failed at finding something hidden... And THAT is pitiful," smirked Jojora.

"Yeah, what she said !"

"Anyway, we can't forget Mario and his way to figure out where was the treasure you had to find. I found that incredibly smart, but maybe you will see that extremely suspicious, who knows ? What about Toad and Bootler who were making guesses during the ultimate part of the challenge ? It seemed as if they were misleading you, seeing that you lost. And Pauline ? Was she that clueless ? Was her last revelation an act of innocence ? I will let you reflect over your rather short journey, you will take your first quiz tonight."

* * *

Jojora, Mario, Donkey and Kooper had chosen to stay together during the whole afternoon, to discuss plenty of things. The four of them were actually visiting Pipetown, mostly because they did not understand that they could have gone wherever they wanted to go thanks to the Warp system of the town.

"Wooo... This game is so stressful !" innocently started Kooper. "I never imagined that playing it would be so intense !"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," scoffed Jojora. "That's not like you didn't say it before."

"What's wrong with you ?"

"I think she might think that Kooper could be the Mole," voiced Donkey. "I'm not sure about this, but he does seem fishy. He knows all kind of useless stuffs that could clearly be not that useless at all, if he was the Mole."

"Wait a moment !" butted in Mario. "I thought you said that you were suspecting Flurrie !"

"Well, it's because I obviously changed my mind," arrogantly retorted the big ape. Kooper began to smile at this.

"Or maybe because you are the Mole trying to confuse us with all your gibberish !"

"Me ? The Mole ?" laughed Donkey. "You should know better than to suspect me, mister Mole."

"I guess we will all make our own choices," finished Jojora. "And you will obviously see that I was right," she added smugly.

* * *

Pauline and Birdo were relaxing in a hot swimming pool made available to the players only. Birdo wanted to find more information about what happened during the challenge, and thought that Pauline was trustworthy enough to answer her questions. They were soon joined by Flurrie and a reluctant Noki.

**Birdo** : I had to talk to the others because I was clearly at a disadvantage during this second mission. Since Noki and I never made it to the end of the first part of the challenge, we had to ask the others to tell us about their impressions. And they could have lied, obviously.

Birdo put her journal on the floor, near the edge of the swimming pool, and leaned against its side. "Hey Pauline !" she yelled cheerfully. "Care to tell me what happened during the challenge ?"

**Pauline** : Part of me wanted to tell her that I knew nothing, but obviously, that wasn't a smart move, so I decided to tell her my version of the facts.

"Well, you have to know that those who made us lose this game were Mario and Toad."

"Is that so ?" she wondered aloud, probably surprised at the fact that two of the most innocent players lost a challenge. "Do you think it was sabotage ?"

"Well, I'm not too sure," admitted Pauline. "But Mario saved us many times during the mission, yet he didn't help us at all during the final part. Bootler and Toad made guesses which were kind of random if you ask me."

Flurrie stopped filling her nails. "I'm really sorry about this, but Mario and Toad aren't the only people responsible for our failure, dearie. Might I remind you that your group, and the one of Donkey and Jojora, didn't manage to move on to the second part of the challenge ? I would say that you are the reason of our challenge's loss..."

"Well... We really did try our best... But then we both were distracted and we awoke the Chomp. I wouldn't say it was totally our fault," explained carefully as well as hesitantly Noki. Flurrie rolled her eyes.

"Of course you would say that."

"I'm beginning more and more suspicious of Donkey," stated Birdo. "I mean, he failed two time during the challenges, he is one of the worst contestants, and there were bananas in the Jails. Maybe that's one of the hidden clues...?"

"Wait. What do you mean by hidden clues ?" inquired Flurrie, becoming more and more wary of the pink dinosaur. Birdo seemed taken aback.

"You never heard about that ? The producers always put clues for us to discover the Mole in this show. Didn't you watch this game before ?"

**Noki** : If what Birdo said about the hidden clues is true, Donkey will raise in my suspects' list.

* * *

Bootler and Toad were taking a walk in Pipetown's park, talking about one thing and another, enjoying their time away from the game. Evidently, the talk's subject changed as it went on, and the two players, without realizing it, brought the conversation around to the game.

"You know Bootler, I'm not sure that you are a normal player like me, but I think I trust you more than the others."

"Why is that ?"

"Well, I don't really know," honestly responded Toad. "But what I know is that tons of other players are suspicious... Flurrie, Kooper, Mario, Pauline, you name them."

"I can only say one thing. If I really am the Mole, then you will be one of my first victims, since you trust me more than the others," pointed Bootler.

"But you wouldn't say that if you were the Mole, would you ?" kindly smiled Toad. "I'm not saying that you are a legitimate player yet, but I doubt you are deceiving anyone at that moment. Who knows, maybe we could work together in a near future, don't you think so ?"

"Only time will tell..."

**Bootler** : To be honest, Toad's suggestion was quite appealing. However, I would like to play the game by myself. Although this coalition would benefit me, I think we should not rush things. And I am not forgetting that he still could be the Mole, despite the fact that he somewhat seems innocent.

* * *

It was around dinner time. Everyone was reunited around the table on which were disposed many dishes, all more delicious than each other. Some players were peacefully eating, some of them were happily telling jokes, and finally, others were scribbling down on their journal, afraid of the upcoming execution. Suddenly, Monty Mole appeared from behind the players, startling them as he spoke up.

"Well, well, well... Do you all like the game so far ?"

"It's kinda hard and confusing, but I guess it won't have any secrets for us by the time we're through with it," chuckled Kooper.

"You would be the first surprised, Kooper," mysteriously replied Monty Mole. Kooper gulped, sensing something bad coming.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. This morning, our friend, Kooper, sitting on this very chair, took an envelope in which was conveniently placed a "+1". A "+1" gives you the opportunity to have a point added to your quiz's results. However, Kooper took it while he was instructed to let it alone. For this, he will earn a "-1", which, like you already know, has the opposite effect of a "+1". I am done with my announcement, you can resume eating," finished the mole.

**Donkey** : Wow, talk about a harsh punishment. But I'm a little glad he was penalized, because it means that I have more chances to stay into this thing. Donkey Kong, moving on toward the next episode !

Soon, somebody finished to eat, it was Noki. She decided to go to take the questionnaire first.

* * *

_ 1. The Mole first came on..._

_-The Red Helicopter_

_-The Yellow Helicopter_

_-The Blue Helicopter_

_-The Pink Helicopter_

_-The Green Helicopter_

**Noki** : At the beginning of the game, everyone was mostly confused. Everyone but Donkey and Jojora. Additionally, they are the ones who made us lose two missions and there's still the banana clue that points at Donkey being the Mole.

_ 2. In the Mixed-Up Luggage Challenge, which room did the Mole pick ?_

_-01_

_-02_

_-03_

_-04_

_-05_

_-06_

_-07_

_-08_

_-09_

_-10_

**Bootler** : I still remember how Flurrie immediately chose the key leading to the exemption, and how she cleverly made us lose three thousand coins. Using the reverse psychology assumption, she could make us think that she was a true player, while in fact, she was just sabotaging.

**Kooper** : Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Birdo could have won the first mission for us. But nooo, she forgot to label her own item, and that's really suspicious if you ask me. The only item which wasn't labeled was her own, maybe she didn't want to feel guilty afterward, who knows ? Dang, this '-1' is stressing me out ! I'm feeling the pressure...like, literally.

_ 3. In the Mixed-Up Luggage Challenge, how many items did the Mole correctly label ?_

_-2_

_-4_

_-5_

_-8_

_-9_

**Pauline** : Toad makes many little tiny mistakes which are, most of the time, unnoticed by the others who only focus on the big mistakes, like the total failure of Birdo, Noki, Jojora and Donkey. I, on the other hand, think that these insignificant mistakes can harm us, so I'm watching everything carefully.

_ 4. The Mole's room is room number..._

_-11_

_-12_

_-13_

_-14_

_-15_

**Mario** : For now, everyone but me is guilty in my eyes. I guess I will just have to make a lucky guess on most of these questions. As long as I don't score the lowest, I'll still be in this game. This is all I need right now.

_ 5. In the Treasure Hunters Challenge, where did the Mole had to go to retrieve their clue ?_

_-Shy Guy Pirate Boat_

_-Chomp Jail_

_-Pirate Town_

_-Skull Cavern_

_-Pirate Land's Jungle_

**Toad** : It amazes me how nobody really paid any attention to Flurrie today. I mean, yesterday they were all pointing her with their finger, but today, she just seemed to glide by... Not that she isn't always gliding with her floating body, but you get my point, I guess.

_ 6. In the Treasure Hunters Challenge, the Mole..._

_-Failed their part of the challenge_

_-Won their part of the challenge_

**Flurrie** : It's hard to tell who the Mole is with so little information. But worrying I'm not, since I have this splendastic and marvelous jewel that is an exemption. However I still feel the need to think over this question.

_ 7. Did the Mole receive something for tonight's execution ?_

_-They received Nothing_

_-An Exemption_

_-A "-1"_

**Birdo** : I just thought about something. What if the Mole hadn't shown sign of foul play yet ? I mean, it could be true, we know nothing about it ! I sincerely hope that I made the right choices, because I really want to continue to play to this game.

_ 8. Who is the Mole rooming with ?_

_-Mario_

_-Pauline_

_-Toad_

_-Kooper_

_-Bootler_

_-Flurrie_

_-Jojora_

_-Donkey_

_-Noki_

_-Birdo_

**Donkey** : I suspect both Flurrie and Noki to be the Mole. The first, well, I guess I suspect her for obvious reasons. But something is just fishy about Noki. I can't believe she could be the shy goodie-two-shoes type of player. Her actions contrast with her personality : she screwed up more than she helped.

_ 9. What is the Mole's occupation ?_

_-Plumber_

_-Model_

_-Gardener_

_-The Mole's Assistant_

_-Butler_

_-Actress_

_-Sculptor_

_-Glitz Pit's Fighter_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Fashion Designer_

**Jojora** : There isn't a Mole, nor there is a type of player. That's why it's hard finding who the Mole is, since there isn't a type of behavior. The cliches always show that the Mole is a weak or a shy person. But think about it, if the Mole was clever and strong, nobody would doubt them and that would be the perfect cover-up for them !

_ 10. Who is the Mole ?_

_-Mario_

_-Birdo_

_-Toad_

_-Jojora_

_-Bootler_

_-Noki_

_-Donkey_

_-Flurrie_

_-Kooper_

_-Pauline_

_

* * *

_

Two arrows of five chairs were facing the screen situated beside the host, who was patiently waiting for the ten players to arrive. Soon enough, they all appeared, most of their faces being ambiguous. Their fate was sealed ; there was no turning back from this execution.

"Greetings, players !" They all replied with more or less enthusiasm. "Today, you will face your first execution, which will soon be followed by six others, until we reach the final of this game. The quiz you took before determines whether or not you are staying in the game. One by one, I will enter your name into the computer and you will have to walk to face the screen. If it's green, congratulations, you scored enough to stay in the game. If it's red, it means that you scored the lowest on the quiz and that you have been executed. Executed players leave definitely the game without any way to ever come back in. If you have an exemption, you will have to insert your card into this slot," he said, pointing at a device located right next to the computer. "Now, shall we begin ? If there isn't an volunteer, I will randomly type up your names into the computer."

Someone was brave enough to raise their hand. It was Birdo, who was dying to know if she had made it or not.

"Birdo."

**B-I-R-D-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Birdo let out a small gasp, happy to see that she was still in. She quickly shut up, seeing the solemn looks on some players' faces. Mario followed her example and chose to go after her.

"Mario," pronounced Monty Mole as he typed the player's name.

**M-A-R-I-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Marion closed his eyes and watched the others with apprehension. Nobody else volunteered, so Monty Mole chose the exempted player.

"Flurrie. Don't forget to use your exemption card," he reminded her.

Flurrie did so and waited for the green screen to appear.

**F-L-U-R-R-I-E**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"Bootler."

Bootler rose up from his chair and floated toward the screen, hoping for a green light.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Bootler kept a stern face as he watched the next player getting up and going toward the screen.

"Kooper," smiled the host.

**K-O-O-P-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED**

"Kooper, I am sorry, but you have been executed from the Mole, we will have to leave immediately.

Kooper nodded, still shocked, grabbed his luggage, and turned to face the other players. "Good luck everyone, you can all do it !" He waved goodbye, and followed Monty Mole out of the hotel. Most of the players were flabbergasted at the sudden disappearance of Kooper.

"That's a shocker," couldn't help saying Jojora, watching the spot occupied by Kooper seconds ago. Toad looked really distraught.

"He wasn't supposed to go ! How could he have known that he would have gotten a "-1" if he had taken the envelope ? This game is rigged."

Pauline shook her head. "I won't say that I agree with their methods, don't misunderstand me, but Kooper did know better than everyone else here that every choice had its consequence. He just made a wrong choice."

"Wow... And I was suspecting him to be the Mole because he would have been advantaged otherwise," sighed Noki. "Everything can happen in this game."

The others nodded, understanding more than ever every word of Noki's simple sentence.

* * *

Kooper was led by Monty Mole to his taxi. Although he did not seem mad at his misfortune, he was clearly disappointed. "I'm really sorry about this, but you know that I am not the one who chooses what happens if someone does something, right ?" tried to cheer him up the host.

"Yeah, but what bugs me is that I lost the first... And I have to wait the end of the season to take on again my job," explained Kooper.

"At least you did enjoy your time here, right ?"

"Yeah... I'm still kinda disappointed at the fact that we never truly won a challenge," he laughed in response.

"Oh well, maybe we will find an arrangement for you to work with us again. In the meantime, take care of yourself Kooper."

"Oh don't worry, I will !" he smiled before finally entering his taxi. Monty Mole waved him goodbye and rejoined the nine survivors.

The first victim of the Mole would soon be followed by seven others.


	5. Searching for Greener Pastures

Hi Everyone ! Sorry for the long wait, I have been kind of busy with college. ^^''

Since I can't answer to everyone by PM, I'll do it here ^^.

**Champ** : XD about the whole Flurrie thing. Well, don't you think she deserves more love ? Plus, she is the best partner in PM2, with her kiss that can heal her. (I love when she deals ten points of damage to an ennemy and recovers the same amout of health). Sorry for Kooper, I know you like him. ^^' And thanks for the review. ^^

**DryBonesKing** : Thank you for your review ! ^^ If I remember correctly I've already responded to it but I'm not sure...

**Charz** : I find it funny how you suspect the characters you don't like. XD And yeah, somehow I had to put you as a cameo in this story. XD Glad you like it and thanks for commenting. ^^

**Tom Nooke** : I'm really, really, really sorry for the mistakes... You don't have many tenses in English, but I have a hard time differencing the Present Perfect (which describes a processus (or so I was told)) and the Preterite (which describes an action anchored in the time). I tried my best for this chapter. ^^'''

For the Kooper issue... I knew it wasn't the best word to describe his job, but I didn't find anything else. I wanted to say that he was part of the crew, that he was assisting the producers, or something like that. I had this sort of problem with Noki too (she isn't an Air Hostess but a Flight Attendant (by the way, sorry Kris, I thought that a flight attendant was someone who was giving flying lessons *gets shot)).

I directly write this story in English. Our languages are totally different, so it would be a waste of time to put my story written in French in a translator. ^^"

As for Flurrie... Well... I'll be honest with you. She is one character that I really like. However, in the French version of the game, she doesn't have that much of a personality so I'm not really familiar with the way she speaks.

Thank you for your review ! ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, some players were in difficulty, notably Jojora and Noki, who were left alone with their part of the mission after their partners failed at their task, some were having little difficulties, like Toad, Kooper, Mario and Pauline, and surprisingly, the last two, being Flurrie and Bootler were doing great. Afterward, the six remaining players had to find the exact location of a treasure chest. Mario found out with ease where it was situated, but the team, unfortunately and ultimately, lost the challenge, despite the good thinking of Bootler and Toad. Soon enough, Monty Mole told the players that the first questionnaire would have to be answered at the end of the day. The players exchanged their suspicions and took the quiz. In the end, Kooper's '-1' penalized him and made him go home, as he was labeled as the Mole's first victim. Nine players remain... Who will be executed next ? And more importantly, who is the Mole ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

5 : Searching for Greener Pastures

**Toad **: For me, last night was awfully long... Kooper's bed was empty and it was really awkward since it was occupied hours ago. That's a kind of waking up, I guess. We'll have to fight – sorta – if we don't want to suffer the same fate as him.

**Flurrie** : I awoke feeling splendastically great. Yes, Kooper is gone, and that's sad for him, but at least I'm still here. I will maybe seem egoistical, but we're in a competition. I was just glad I wasn't going anywhere soon thanks to my exemption. Well, and you know, bad news for some mean good news for others. That's how this game works.

**Pauline** : If Kooper was still here, I could have lured the others into thinking he was the Mole, that way I would have passed easily the quizzes, but that just won't do it now seeing that he's gone. I need to find a better strategy...or the Mole, obviously.

* * *

Being all alone in his room, Toad did not have much to do. He took a look at his journal, quickly jotted down a few more annotations and chose to head toward the Hotel's hall. Taking a seat at the breakfast table, he sighed, wondering what the others could possibly do this early.

**Toad** : I miss Kooper, because he was really a great guy to be around with. It's very unfortunate that he was the first to go, I expected him to go all the way to the finals.

Somehow, the Mushroom boy became bored and started wandering aimlessly through the many corridors of the hotel. As he was making his umpteenth turn, he faced a wall on which was written an interesting thing.

'THE MOLE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU'

"Well, well, well... What do we have now ? I'm feeling pretty lucky today !" He then paused a minute. "It may be a valuable clue, but I really don't understand it. Errr, I should probably write it somewhere before I forgot it."

He wrote it on a piece of paper, and proceed to erase the message from the wall.

"Please don't think of me as a selfish person. It's a game, and I have to use every tricks in the book if I want to win it," he winked.

* * *

As usual, Flurrie was late, and thus, was the last player to arrive at the hotel's entrance, most to the annoyance of the others. Suppressing a few grunts, they all agreed to follow Monty Mole to wherever he wanted to take them.

"So," he started, trying to strike up a subject of conversation, "how did you feel after Kooper's execution ?"

Donkey shrugged. "We didn't get the chance to know him that well, so in a way, it doesn't feel really different, you know ?" Toad spoke up.

"It felt pretty wrong waking up besides an unoccupied bed. And rather awkward, to tell the whole truth."

"I did think that his execution was rigged a little... But after thinking about it, it didn't make much sense. I think he was just the unlucky one of the bunch," confided Pauline.

"He should have seen it coming, though," added Flurrie. Most of the players rolled their eyes.

"Please Flurrie, there was no way he could have known that he would leave the game first," reminded her Toad, who was then backed up by Mario's nod.

"Not to forget that even the Mole can't control the game. Everyone just plays their part and hopes for the best."

**Birdo** : Kooper's elimination has been a shock for everyone. I mean, it was so sudden and all, there was no way to prevent it. Everyone was kinda glad that they weren't the one eliminated yesterday, but at the same time... We've all felt guilty for maybe taking Kooper's place into the game.

Thereafter, Bootler, who had had enough of all this discussion, decided to voice his opinion. "I would suggest that we start talking about something else, because it has become terribly annoying after a while."

Nodding, Noki asked Monty Mole a question. "Hey, where are we going right now ? I'm impatient to know what we'll need to do, actually." Monty Mole chuckled a little.

"Right on time ! Here we go, door number seven !" he said as he led them toward the end of the pipe.

The players discovered in amazement that the room was very similar to the one which was beyond door two. Mario was the first to comment. "Isn't that strange ? I mean, last time, during Mario Party Seven, we were on this gigantic boat. And it was leading us toward every destinations we wanted to go to..."

"Well, obviously, when they built this complex, they did not want to disturb the princess, nor did they want to ask her for her boat. They also thought that rooms and halls were more easy to link thanks to warp pipes, so it all makes sense in the end, don't you think so ?" Everyone accepted his answer, showing it more or less energetically. "Well, we will be going to Windmillville, so take the exit four. I will see you there once you will be dressed up ! See you soon !"

Bootler followed Monty Mole through the Warp Pipe, and soon, the others did the same. They were going to the locker room to change clothes, much to the disappointment of some players. Disguised as farmers, those who possessed feet had to wear uncomfortable clogs, tight pants or wide dresses, depending on their genders, traditional farmer hats as well as loose-fitting tops. Needless to say, they were pretty unnerved.

"Oww !" yelled Noki. "Oh man... It seems we're in for a world of hurt ! Ugh, that's so frustrating !"

"I am really thankful for being a Boo," laughed quietly Bootler, watching the other players' struggle.

Flurrie threw her hands up in the air. "This just cannot be ! Grr... I'm so going to sue these producers !"

"Oh, shut up !" shouted Jojora. "You don't have to put clogs, so shut up ! Really !"

"Errr... How am I supposed to put that on ?" asked a mystified Donkey. Mario put a palm to his forehead.

"Donkey, you put it back to front. It's no wonder you haven't managed yet to put it on..."

**Donkey** : I hated that part. I just looked like an idiot in front of everyone on national television.

**Mario** : Pauline and Birdo were cute in their disguises. However, we weren't.

After a little while, everyone was more or less ready for whatever was awaiting them. Little did they know that their second task would be nothing short of an annoyance...

* * *

"Greetings everyone !" smiled an enthusiastic Monty Mole.

"We've already seen you today," pointed out Jojora.

"That's great Jojora, can we move on now ?" asked Pauline, clearly irritated by the fairy's attitude.

Monty Mole thanked her. "Well, thank you Pauline. Here we are, in Windmillville, where your challenge will take place. I would like you to look at this marvelous landscape, don't you think it is a picture of nature ?"

"It's so beautiful it has caught my eyes !" ironically exclaimed Jojora.

**Jojora** : Actually, I like to annoy Monty Mole and the other players. I still don't know why, but I find that really fun to see their faces each time I say some nasty remarks...

"Anyway... Oh yes, I almost forget !" recalled the host. "You will not be participating in the same challenge. So here we are, I need four persons who love animals, and five who love flowers ! You have one or two minutes to choose, so be quick !"

"Okay, I definitely think that Toad should take part in the floral challenge !" threw out Mario. "I mean, as a gardener he could help us win money !" Toad did not look pleased.

"Well, since I'm usually surrounded by flowers, I guess I should do it... But that's the exact reason for which I won't do it. I'm not here to do the same things as usual, you know."

"I'm not that much into flowers either. Sure, they are as beautiful as my self, but I really want to do animals ! I sense that this challenge has an adventurous side !" exclaimed Flurrie, delighted.

"Don't count on me for the flower thing ! Flowers are useless !" claimed Donkey.

"Well, they aren't as useless as him," murmured Birdo to Noki who responded by a soft giggle.

Finally, Jojora raised her hand. "I'll do animals too. Hopefully it won't be boring."

Monty Mole nodded. "I will start with the four of you. Flurrie, Donkey, Toad and Jojora, the challenge you will play in is called 'Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep'. I guess its name explains what you have to do during this challenge, but I will give you further instructions anyway."

"Your goal is to run after the sheep and to retrieve the money that is tied to their belly. However, be careful, there is more than meets the eye ! Head to that path over here and follow it, for it will lead you to your destination. Take this radio. Once I will give you the signal, you will have thirty minutes to retrieve as much money as possible ! Good luck, you will need it."

"Huh ?" questioned dumbly Toad as he was dragged by the other three.

**Flurrie** : Obviously, Monty Mole was saying that the task would be difficult, but I think there is something else to his words. Something that the others have yet to fully understand...

Monty Mole then faced the five remaining players, all of them eager to hear about their challenge. "I'm sorry, but once again, you will have to choose roles. I need one player who thinks that people have to suffer to be beautiful, one player who knows how to use their brain and three others who are good at following orders."

"Can I be the one who thinks that one has to suffer to be beautiful ?" asked Birdo to the two other girls. Pauline shrugged while Noki nodded.

"I'm still a little tired... So can I please be the smart one ?" quietly inquired Noki.

"Yeah, that's okay," confirmed Mario. "Plus I'm not in the mood to give directions right now."

"Why yes, do not worry, you can have this role," elegantly replied Bootler.

"This mission is called 'Floral Composition', your goal will be to find five Bub-Bulb seeds scattered around this gigantic greenhouse. Noki, the smart one, will have to direct you to the places where the seeds are hidden. However, she is strictly forbidden to show you a picture of the flowers near which are located the seeds, and she cannot give you their names either."

"Wait. How are we supposed to find where are hidden the Bub-Bulb seeds if Noki can't tell us anything ?" cut him Pauline.

"I have yet to finish my explanation, Pauline. Noki cannot tell you the flowers' names, but she can describe them. For example, she could tell you that something is located near red beautiful flowers which possess thorns."

"And what about me ? What will I do ?" asked Birdo.

"Well, you see... That's the funny part," started Monty Mole, trying to hold his laughter. "As the masochist one, you will act as a hourglass. As long as you run on this windmill wheel, the game is on. But should you stop at any point of the game, you will make everyone lose twenty thousand coins."

"I'm not sure I will like this one bit," whispered Birdo, biting her nails. Noki comforted her.

"Well, that's all, I guess. Okay, let's go to the great windmill."

"This shall be interesting," simply noted Bootler, before following the host and his partners.

**Bootler** : I had no idea as to what was going to happen during this challenge. Entering the game, I first thought that my aged personage would not last long, because I would have been handicapped sooner or later being the oldest of the cast. Fortunately, this game is not about who is the strongest or the smartest of the bunch. You just need to have the ability to analyze every little thing that happens throughout this journey.

* * *

While Birdo and Noki were heading upstairs in the Great Windmill, Monty Mole led Bootler, Pauline and Mario to a gigantic greenhouse wherein were standing multiple kind of flowers, all more pretty than each other.

"Wow... That's really awesome !" exclaimed Pauline, taking some photographs with her digital camera. "I've never seen anything like this ! I just don't know what to say..."

"I must say that it is rather remarkable," commented Bootler, his mouth agape. Mario smiled, having already seen this greenhouse before, and took a few more steps in.

"So, when will we start this challenge ?"

"As soon as Birdo starts to run. Each of you, take these earpieces. The three of you will communicate with Noki with these. Well, I think that it's about time, so I will watch you from above. Good luck !" He then sped toward the Windmill, supervising everything.

**Mario** : I've already been here, that's true. However, I've just visited. I've never really paid any attention to the flowers' emplacements. That will be tough.

Suddenly, a sound was emitted from the earpieces. "Noki's here ! Hmmm... Is someone hearing me ?"

"Yes Noki, we are receiving you loud and clear. Could you assign us to our first task ?"

* * *

"They are hearing me !" shouted an overjoyed Noki. "Okay Bootler, hmmm... You have to search for a red flower !"

Birdo looked a little disappointed at Noki's instruction. "Be more precise or else we will never win..."

"Got it ! Well... I'm not really good at describing things... The flower you have to find is very frail, its petal are very soft and can be ripped pretty easily. You have to be careful when you take one in your hand... What else can I say... Hmm... Oh yeah, I doubt it is really worth anything... But I think it holds some sentimental value. What ? Hmmm no. Remember that I can't give you its name. You can find it in the country. Yeah, that's about all. Sorry, pops."

* * *

"Do you guys have any ideas as to what we should be searching for ?" asked Pauline.

Bootler was pacing back and forth, his mind furiously thinking about Noki's last words. "Eureka ! Thank you for the hint Noki, you are really smart !"

"You are welcome," replied Noki through the earpiece.

"Mario, Pauline. Noki just gave us a clue about the flower we have to search ! Don't you think that it is rather strange that she said 'Sorry, pop.', considering her shy nature ?"

"Sure, it is. But I don't think I'm following you..."

"The flower we have to search for is a poppy ! It was a very smart move."

**Pauline** : Noki could be the Mole. She just gave us a clue like that, not knowing whether or not she had the right to do so. I'll watch her every moves from now on.

"I think we should go our own ways to cover more field," exposed Pauline. Mario shook is head in response.

"If one of us miss the place where the poppies are, we will lose too much time, so I think it's best if we stick together," argued Mario.

"Let's inspect every nook and cranny," suggested Bootler.

The three of them were randomly searching the many tables on which were placed many pots, as well as the flowers planted in the rich and fertile soil, forgetting a valuable piece of information that Noki had provided them earlier.

* * *

Toad, Flurrie, Donkey and Jojora finally arrived at the sheep's enclosure. Unsure of what to do, they walked to a bench and sat down on it. Jojora started to speak with Donkey, but was soon interrupted by Monty Mole's voice, coming from their radio.

"You may begin now," allowed them the host.

"Let's catch them !" yelled Toad, as excited as usual.

"I think we have this in the bag, seriously. Except for that fat mass over here, we are the most athletic of the group. Let's go Donkey !" told him Jojora.

"Well, that was uncalled for !" spat Flurrie. Unlike the other three, Flurrie took her time to analyze the situation she was in.

**Flurrie** : Well, I might look like I'm just a snob, but I can assure you that it is not the case. Did you really think that an actress of my rank was that dumb and superficial ? I certainly hope not. Anyway, returning to the challenge. There were twenty five white sheep and only one black. This immediately caught my beautiful eyes.

Flurrie immediately darted for the black sheep, but he scurried away, making her attempt a failure. The others were not so lucky either, so they chose to create a plan.

"They are way faster than I would have ever imagined !" complained Jojora.

"We have to surround them, or else we won't be able to catch them," stated Toad. Donkey looked exhausted.

"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled the big ape. "And these damn clogs aren't helping us either."

Toad was watching Flurrie in the distance, who was trying to jump on the black sheep. "Hey, you know, she has good ideas sometimes. We should try to lure the sheep somewhere, so that a third person could jump on it. How's that ?"

"That might just work, actually," nodded Jojora.

The three of them entered the enclosure once again. Jojora and Toad started chasing around some sheep, to make them flee toward one corner. The sheep tried to turn around but it was too late for one of them. Donkey jumped on it and snatched a bag from his belly.

"Woohoo ! Success !" shouted Toad, happy to see that his strategy worked.

Jojora ran toward where Donkey was and asked him a question. "So ? What's inside ?"

"Are you kidding me ?" roared Donkey. "They say I have to take my shoes off ! These stupid sheep shits everywhere ! No way I'm gonna take them off, and that's final."

"Well, I understand..."

**Toad** : We really sucked during this challenge.

Knowing henceforth how to work as a team, Toad, Jojora and Donkey tried their best to snatch money from the sheep.

* * *

Mario, Pauline and Bootler were clueless. Despite Noki's intelligence, they were still searching their first flower. Bootler, sensing that Pauline was more and more reluctant to search for the flower, decided to ask something to Noki.

"Noki, could you please tell us where we should search for that poppy ?"

"I guess you should search for it outside of the greenhouse. I mean, it's a country flower so I doubt it would be cultivated here," replied slowly Noki through his earpiece.

"I heard it Bootler, leave it to me !" exclaimed Mario before rushing out of the greenhouse. Minutes later, he unleashed a successful yell. "I have it ! I have the first Bub-Bulb seed !"

"What do we have to do now ?" inquired Pauline in a tired tone.

"You have to search for a flower linked to the sun. It's a really big flower, with yellow petals."

"Okay, easy one ! It's a sunflower guys !" smiled Mario as he went to the place where were placed the sunflowers and retrieved the second seed.

**Mario** : It was actually a good idea to search every place of the greenhouse, because after that we knew where were situated the flowers. We lost time, but our loss made us win more time thereafter.

* * *

Noki was more and more worried for Birdo as the minutes added up. Her partner was sweating profusely and looked one the verge of collapsing.

**Noki** : Birdo looked so weak... I really thought she was going to faint. That's why I had to do this...

"Noki, we need our next instructions !"

"Mmmh... You have to find a purple flower which name can be sometimes used as a very pejorative adjective !"

With that, Noki glanced one more time at Birdo and started to run down the stairs leading to the greenhouse. She looked around for a bottle of water but couldn't find one. The flight attendant decided to exit the greenhouse to buy some water for Birdo, totally forgetting the three searchers...

* * *

"Yay ! Finally !" cheered Flurrie as she took the bag tied to the black sheep's belly. "So let's see, what did I win..."

_Congratulations ! As the finder of this letter, you have a chance at winning an exemption ! You only need to find five bags and to throw them into the river that is near the enclosure. _

**Donkey** : I caught a look of Flurrie, and it seemed like she was reading something. Maybe it was just me, but I think she was reading instructions the producers had given her. She is sneaky, we can't trust her.

"I've got it !" yelled Jojora, a bag of one thousand coins in her hand. "Let's put it over here."

The threesome once again chased after sheep. Unfortunately, Toad tripped on something and caught himself to a barrier. Donkey continued to chase after the sheep and retrieved one additional one thousand coins, but Jojora stopped in her track and stayed at Toad's sides.

"Are you okay ?" she questioned him.

"No... Uuugh... My ankle, it seems sprained..."

"Donkey ! We need some medical assistance over here !"

"Okay, I'm going to look for them ! Stay here !"

"Well, it's not like Toad can move..."

In the distance, Flurrie threw a bag of coins in the water. As she was returning to her sabotage, she saw Toad and Jojora, as well as something else ; it was a perfect opportunity.


	6. A Nice Reward

Previously on the Mole, Toad found a clue about the Mole's identity. Then, the nine survivors headed to Windmillville, a peaceful town, home of Mother Nature. There, they chose the challenge they wanted to participate in ; Flurrie, Donkey, Jojora and Toad had to work together to take the money situated beneath the sheep while Mario, Pauline and Bootler had to find Bub-Bulb seeds thanks to Noki and under the limit time provided by Birdo's endurance. During that mission, Flurrie had another shot at winning an exemption and she apparently tried her luck. Toad fell at one point of the game and asked for help, prompting Donkey to seek medical assistance. Last time, Noki also quit the Great Windmill in order to find a water bottle for Birdo who was clearly struggling.

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

6 : A Nice Reward

Mario, Bootler and Pauline had reached a dead-end. With Noki missing and not answering to their desperate calls for help, there were little things they could do. Mario was frantically running around, trying to think at the same time, Pauline simply stopped looking for more seeds and sat down on a nearby chair, grumbling inaudibly about something and Bootler was still looking for more Bub-Bulb seeds, as calm and collected as usual.

"I knew she would do something like that. Talk about being loyal to the team," expressed Pauline, rolling her eyes. "I don't know what she is doing right now, but I bet she's up to no good."

**Mario** : That definitely wasn't a smart move on Noki's part, seeing that all three of us were suspicious of her. And just when we were finally getting somewhere too...

"She must have her reasons," defended her Bootler. "I also do not wish to sound mean, but I do not see you lifting any finger at all to help us."

Pauline raised an eyebrow. "Why would I ? It's rather obvious that we've lost this challenge, don't you think so ?"

Bootler shook his head, parting leaves at the same time. "You are being pessimistic, Pauline. We have not lost yet, our game is not over as long as Birdo keeps on running."

**Bootler** : Pauline strikes me as a great choice for the Mole. Being somewhat refined and listening a little too much to herself, she could sabotage the missions very easily without our knowledge, since we would think that she is being herself.

"Please, I just want to add money to the pot for once," silently wished Mario, grieved by their recent losses.

**Pauline** : It's not funny to always lose...

* * *

Birdo was so focused on her goal that she never saw that Noki had left her alone.

**Birdo** : During this whole challenge, I totally forgot about everything. I wasn't even paying attention to the time anymore. It was like I was in some sort of lethargy of which I couldn't escape. That was really weird now that I think about it.

* * *

Moving forward very carefully to not get lost, Noki was in desperate need for a water bottle in Windmillville. She was growing more and more worried by the minute.

"Excuse me. Excuse me !" she asked, more louder this time around. "Yes you, could you help me ?"

A purple Toad, wearing a golden cap as well as a red jacket stood before her. "Eeeeh... Mi ?"

"Yes ! I'm in urgent need of water, could you please give me a bottle or two ?"

"Lo siento, pero no hablo Inglés," told her the Spanish Toad, sorry to not be able to give her what she wanted.

**Noki** : An ordinary player would have been very upset by this turn of event, but not me. I'm an air hostess and as such I meet people who don't speak English on a daily basis. So it's only natural that I would know how to speak different languages more or less fluently.

Noki asked him once again if he could tell her where to get water, in Spanish this time. "Señor, ¿sabe dondé puedo comprar agua o dondé puedo encontrarla ?"

The purple Toad smiled, appreciative of her efforts. "Si,¡ claro que si ! Voy a darle unas botellas, espera aquí por favor. Mi casa es en la calle al lado del molino !"

"Sea rapido por favor, no tengo mucho tiempo," added Noki, trying to make him hurry up as he left.

She then sat on a nearby chair."Thank goodness for this man's kindness otherwise I could have been stuck here for a little while," she breathed.

* * *

**Donkey** : So, I've brought the medic with me because of Toad's sprain, but when I looked at where should have been the money, I couldn't find a thing. Since Toad couldn't move, I thought it was either Jojora or Flurrie's doing... Turns out that I was right.

"Where's the money ?" questioned Donkey. Jojora raised an eyebrow.

"What ?"

"I asked you where the money was," repeated Donkey.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "I'm not deaf yet, I can hear you perfectly right. What I asked you was : what do you mean ?"

"Well, since you aren't deaf nor are you blind, you should know where it went, shouldn't you ?"

The blue fairy shrugged. "I let it there the other time, so I have no-"

Suddenly, the sculptor was interrupted by a splashing sound. She turned around and watched horrified Flurrie throwing three bags full of coin in the water. Donkey was fuming with anger.

"What does she think she's doing ?" raged the big ape. "That's settles it, I'm going to have a nice chat with her," continued Donkey, putting emphasis on the word 'nice'.

"Hey !" chirped Toad cheerfully. "I'm better now, but they said I shouldn't overdo it. What's the matter with Donkey ?"

"Flurrie just sabotaged in front of us. We saw it with our own eyes. I knew she was a moronic idiot."

"Wow... Talk about harsh."

On the other side of the enclosure, Flurrie grinned from ear to ear, she was one step closer to winning the exemption and no issue had disturbed her yet. However, everything changed as soon as Donkey arrived.

**Flurrie** : I was peacefully minding my own business when Donkey went all crazy on me. And I was so close at winning my second exemption in a row too...

**Toad **: I don't know why, but Donkey and Jojora are the least collected players of this whole game show. I could understand the fact that they wish to win for once, but I really don't see why they're so dramatic about it. Maybe they have anger management problems ?

"Do you care to explain why you threw the bags we found in the river ?"

"Well, you see, while it seems that I had no reason whatsoever to do this, I actually had one," responded Flurrie, carefully choosing her words.

"Just. Spit. It. Out," ordered Donkey through gritted teeth.

"Well, to put it simply, my wonderful self had another shot at winning an exemption, isn't that great ? Not to mention that you can't do anything to make me lose it, because I already fulfilled the requirements that were needed to obtain it. So ? Do you still wish to talk with me ?"

The brown primate stared at her threateningly, and then resumed to win more money for the team. However, he did not resume his hunting before shooting her a look and vowing that he would never ever trust the big and mauve cloudy wind spirit again.

**Jojora** : Flurrie is going down. We won't give her any information at all and we plan to have several other players doing the same.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bootler and Pauline were talking more in depth about the game whereas Mario was still searching for more Bub-Bulb seeds, hoping to prove himself as a worthy contender. While he looked at a red rose, his eyes caught a glimpse of a green metallic card. Mario knew what it was, he had more than one occasion to see one of these cards shining in Flurrie's hands. It was a valuable item, one that every players of this game wanted to possess before an execution. He reached out for it and quickly put it in his pocket.

**Mario** : An exemption in The Mole... It's like a lifesaver on a sinking boat... It would be dumb not to grab this chance while I still can. They can't blame me, after all, they could have won it if they had searched a little more than they have.

"Sooo," started Pauline suggestively. "What do you think of the game so far ?"

"Well, I suppose it is going smoothly. However I would appreciate if Flurrie, Jojora and Donkey cut the drama for once. It is not going the way it is supposed to go...

"That wasn't my question, you know," cut him Pauline while raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I misconstrued it. I suppose you want to talk about The Mole, don't you ?" asked a skeptical Bootler.

"Your supposition is quite right," approved Pauline. "But don't think you have to. I'm not forcing you after all."

**Pauline** : I don't want to align with Mario, because it would be too predictable. Bootler, on the other hand... I think he has the potential to help me in the long run. I mean, despite his looks, he's rather strong and fast for an old man, he has some willpower and is incredibly smart. I'm not saying that Mario isn't, don't get me wrong, but since I want to do something different...

**Bootler** : I do not know if I should trust Pauline or not. Truth to be told, I tend to blindly follow people I trust him. Hence why I am not sure that being in a coalition is the right thing to do.

"Well, I suppose it would not kill me to share suspicions with a fellow player... And it would not kill me at all if I was to share this confidential information with a fellow Mole either," Bootler smiled. "Shall we proceed ?"

Pauline clapped her hands. "Alright, let's get down to business ! Do you want me to start ?"

"I do not mind," responded politely the butler.

"Well, you know, it was during the second challenge actually. Mario and I, we had to discover some sort of white stone which hid our clue. But during this challenge, the battery of our flashlight died on us. Pretty suspicious when you think about it, because I never touched it. So it must have been Mario's doing," she explained watching carefully for Mario's presence.

"I can see where you are going. I do not have many clues as of yet, but I can tell you that I am suspecting Flurrie the most. "She was the first to claim room number nine during the first challenge. To be more exact, she was the first one to grab a key and surprisingly, it was the key leading to the door hiding an exemption. If she was the Mole, it would have been a great opportunity to ruin our efforts."

"I see... Well, thanks Bootler, I think I will put that down on my journal."

**Bootler** : I did not accept Pauline's offer of an alliance. I only shared a few information and she did the same. Quid pro quo, as you may call it.

* * *

"So thirsty," moaned Birdo.

Just as she was going to stop running, Noki barged in with a really fresh bottle of water and gave it to the pink dinosaur. Birdo's eyes grew wide as she took it from Noki's hands and gulped it down within seconds.

"Oh my gosh thank you Noki ! I owe you one !" enthusiastically exclaimed Birdo.

"Well, somebody was kind enough to give me three bottles in town, so you should thank them and not me," stated Noki, humble as always.

"Wait, you left this windmill ?" asked a bewildered Birdo. "I didn't know that."

Noki put her hand to her mouth. "You mean, really ? Because I left a little while ago and-Oh no ! I have to help the others ! Do you think you can go on for a little longer ?"

"Yup, I feel totally energized thanks to this water !"

"Mario, Bootler, Pauline, are you still here ? I'm going to-" she was suddenly cut by Mario's voice.

"YAHOO ! I found one !" he yelled through the earpiece.

"Which one ?" inquired Noki.

"Noki, you're here ? Oh my gosh, we can totally win this now !" cheered Pauline along with Bootler and Mario.

"Mmmh... I don't know, but I was a pink flower," answered Mario.

"Oh, it must be the tulip then... I guess you also found the purple one when I left, right ?"

"You are indeed right," came the voice of Bootler. "We only need to find the last flower."

"Well, I guess we won then ! The flower's name you have to find... You can't forget it, you don't have the right, as it probably told you."

"I got it ! Forget-me-not, here I come !" shouted Mario, more happy than ever. After a few minutes, his voice rang out. "I got it ! The final seed !"

**Birdo**: When I heard that, I was really really really really really really happy ! You have no idea how happy I was ! On top of that, it was thanks to I that we won this whole challenge. If I had stopped when I couldn't go on, I would have made the team lose. It's good to be the hero for once.

"Well, I hope that the others are doing as good as we've done," wished Birdo.

* * *

Unfortunately, the other four were not doing as good as Birdo's group. They were slowly falling apart and even Toad's positive mood could not make them work together. So here he was, watching them bickering every little minute of their challenge.

**Toad **: I wished I hadn't fallen during this challenge, because nothing would have happened if that had been the case.

"How about I help you two ?" suggested Flurrie, to no avail.

"Are you kidding us ? Go away and leave us alone," ordered coldly Jojora.

Donkey nodded, looking ferociously at the actress. "What she said."

Toad tried to plead Flurrie's case. "Guys, you would have done the same thing if you were proposed an exemption..."

"Excuse me ?" asked a fuming and shocked Jojora. "Seriously Toad, you're being dumb. She took advantage of your situation to steal the money we had trouble to retrieve. Do I need to remind you that you nearly injured yourself while trying to get that money ? Sure, I would try to win an exemption if someone proposed it to me, but I would never hinder the team progress ! I would do it all by myself !"

"Okay okay, sorry ! No need to be mad at me !" whimpered the small mushroom boy.

**Jojora** : I think the next insult a la mode will be : "You're such a Flurrie.". Yeah, that definitely sounds like an awesome and harsh insult.

Soon enough, Flurrie obtained another bag full of coin. Donkey and Jojora watched her, apprehensive. To their surprise, she shook her head, blew them a kiss, and threw another bag into the river.

"Yay ! Second exemption in a row !" she yelled loud enough so that Jojora and Donkey could hear her from where they were.

"She's seriously pissing me off !"

"Donkey ! She fooled you ! She needed to throw five bags of coin in the water but when you went to talk with her, she had only thrown four out of five bags !" realized Jojora, feeling very upset.

"Guys, forget about it and get on with the mission !" yelled Toad. "We only have about four or three minutes left !"

"What the heck are you saying ?" shouted Donkey.

"I'm saying what I'm saying ! We only had thirty minutes after all. But with all the drama that happened during this challenge, well... I don't want to say it, but you three kind of wasted it !"

"And you couldn't have said that before ?" questioned Jojora.

Toad was taken aback by her question. "Well, you wouldn't have listened to me anyway, and I thought you knew it !"

Flurrie chose to simply help them for the last minutes. She cornered a sheep and dived for his bag of money. With no way to escape her, the sheep let her take his money. She floated to the place Toad was and put it next to him. Donkey saw that and was not too happy about it.

**Donkey** : She ruined the efforts we made as a team and now she is trying to look like the hero ? I totally can't stand her !

"Well, I'm going to help !" suddenly exclaimed Toad. "And I know a way to take the money from the sheep ! Flurrie, Donkey, Jojora ! All of you, go to the end of the enclosure and then go respectively to the right, the center and the left of it. Then you run after the sheep but as you do that, Flurrie and Jojora, you will have to run progressively toward the center of the back of the enclosure. Logically, all I will have to do is to extend my arms and to snatch a few bags from the sheep's bellies. So ? We'll only have one shot at this, so let's do this already !"

"Fine !" Jojora yelled. "You better not screw up !"

They went to their designed spots and started to run toward the sheep. The sheep, being pursued, naturally fled toward the other end of the enclosure, where Toad was patiently waiting. Soon enough, they were coming his way and he successfully took seven bags from them. However, only four of them were bags of money.

"Talk about bad luck," he chuckled, just as the host came to tell them that their mission was over.

"Let's go to the Great Windmill. Your friends are waiting for you."

* * *

Everyone was situated before the Great Windmill of Windmillville as Monty Mole was going to reveal the results of their challenges. The mole stood on a bench to look like he was taller and began to speak.

"Well, I know that both teams had a hard time with their challenge... Truth to be told the producers thought you would win them really easily... Maybe it was the Mole's fault that you had a hard time, wasn't it ?"

As soon as he pronounced these words, Mario, Bootler and Pauline looked at Noki for a moment while Jojora and Donkey glared daggers at Flurrie.

"I would want to start with the first group. The one composed of Toad, Donkey, Jojora and Flurrie, precisely. You already know what they had to do, so I won't say much about it. However, some...interesting things happened during this game. Donkey ! You had to take off your clogs at a point of the game, didn't you ?"

"Well, yes... But there were poops everywhere, so I didn't do it," answered the ape.

"Unfortunately... You had to do it. Which means that you made the team lose five thousand coins."

All eyes turned in shock to Donkey who could not utter a single word.

**Mario** : That really makes me suspicious of Donkey, because he always makes mistakes... At first I thought it was unintentional but now I doubt it. That's a little too much if you ask me.

**Jojora** : Well... I would have sacrificed five thousand coins to conserve my dignity. I don't want to walk into poop, thank you very much.

"Other than that... Toad fell – don't worry, he didn't fall into poop – and he hurt his leg. However thanks to his smartness, the team won another four thousand coins at the very end of the challenge."

"So," voiced Birdo, "how much did they add into the team pot ?"

"Well, they should have added ten thousand coins to the pot... But Flurrie sacrificed five thousand coins to win an exemption and Donkey broke the rules so...no money awarded for this challenge !" laughed playfully the host, until he saw the death glares of some players. "Errr, never mind me. Moving on with the second group... Well, you will be happy. They added twenty thousand coins to the team pot ! Despite the fact that suspicious things also happened during that mission. Noki disappeared to bring water to Birdo, Pauline and Bootler stopped searching when she did, and Birdo almost gave up just before Noki returned ! There definitely was some mole-ish activity during that challenge."

The players eyed each other, trying to find the saboteur among them all.

"Oh, and before I forgot ! Mario also won an exemption."

"He did ?" asked Noki, Bootler, Pauline and Birdo at the same time.

Mario rubbed his chin. "Well, yes. I found it near the red roses." Pauline was clearly frustrated, because she was the first to search near that area.

"Well, have fun ! You can do whatever you want in this little yet peaceful village because you won't have another challenge today. Bye Bye !" announced the host before rushing toward Pipetown.

"Let's go Donkey, we don't want to stay here, do we ?"

"Right behind you !" Mario seemed to be in deep reflection. Suddenly he jumped of the bench and ran to join Jojora and Donkey.

Toad, Pauline and Bootler chose to relax near the Great Windmill while Noki, Birdo and Flurrie headed toward the town. Toad smiled. "It seems that the game is on, once again."

* * *

"Jojora ! Donkey ! Wait up for me a second will you ?" he pronounced between breaths. "I would like to talk with you two about the challenge, please."

"As long as you're not a fat purple cow, you can join our group," smiled sweetly Jojora, her voice dripping with venom. Mario raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess. You three went into an argument, once again ?" Donkey and Jojora rolled their eyes.

"Well, I would have been cool if she hadn't steal our coins," remarked Jojora, putting emphasis on the second to last word of her sentence. Mario looked even more confused than before.

"Let's talk about that over here," suggested Donkey, pointing to a nearby park.

They went to the park and waited a minute or two before finally speaking. "Listen Mario. What we are going say is the one and only truth. You have to stop sharing information with Flurrie because she is a traitor."

"Well, I'm not sure I understand, but please explain."

"Flurrie... You know she won an exemption, right ? Well, she won it thanks to the money that Jojora, Toad and I had retrieved. When Toad fell, she fainted an interest and stole the coins which were lying next to Jojora and him. She took advantage of the situation, Mario. I'm serious here, you better believe me."

"Wait, how do I know that you are not lying ?"

"Ask Toad, he will confirm our side of the story," simply answered Jojora.

"Well, if she is the Mole she won't go anywhere soon, you know ?"

Jojora shook her head. "Do you really think the Mole could be that hungry for exemptions ? I could understand for one of them, but two ? That's hard to believe. You don't have to be mean to her, but please. The least she will know about the game, the sooner she will be executed." Donkey nodded and proceeded to ask Mario a question.

"Say, what happened with Noki ?"

* * *

"Can you believe that she almost made us lose the game ? Thank goodness Birdo didn't throw the challenge..."

Pauline, Bootler and Toad were resting near the Great Windmill and were talking about the two challenges that took place during the afternoon.

"Who do you guys suspect ?" bluntly inquired Toad much to the surprise of Pauline and Bootler. They both laughed quietly and decided to answer the mushroom's question.

"That is pretty funny Toad, because when Mario was searching for the seeds, Pauline and I chose to talk about our suspects. I suppose we can tell you if you give us information about what happened in your group," smartly maneuvered Bootler.

"Well, you heard it from Monty Mole. It all began with my fall. Donkey went to search for the medics and Jojora stayed with me. Flurrie then appeared all of a sudden and asked me if I needed help. I said I appreciated her concern, but that she wouldn't be able to do a thing anyway. So then she left. Then Donkey returned and saw that our coins had disappeared. He asked Jojora a few questions but then we saw Flurrie throwing money bags into the river. Donkey and her fought for a long time – with words, mind you. Donkey told us that Flurrie had won an exemption, so he and Jojora tried to win more coins until they heard another splash. Actually, Flurrie hadn't won the exemption yet at that time. We understood that she lied and then I reminded them that we only had a little more time left. After that I came up with a smart strategy and we added four thousand coins to our win with this last move. That's about it."

"Wow ! Wait a moment, I have to jot that down on my journal !" stated Pauline, writing frantically on her journal. Bootler, on the other hand, was more collected and only took notes.

"Well, to answer your question... I was suspicious of Flurrie," confessed Bootler. "But what Noki did looked like sabotage to me."

"Ah yes ! Well, you sure couldn't find the Bub-Bulb seeds without her since she was giving you clues about the areas where they should have been, that's for sure. Thank goodness Birdo never left the wheel, though. But wouldn't that mean that Mario is suspicious ? I mean he found an exemption yet he failed to find seeds ?"

"He found one actually," recalled Pauline who finally finished to write the information she needed in her journal. "But yes, Mario is one of my suspect. Mario, Birdo and Noki are my top three suspects for the Mole."

"For me it's Flurrie, Donkey and I still don't have a third suspect... Probably Mario or Jojora, I guess," thought aloud Toad.

Bootler spoke up. "Well, Noki reached the highest pic of my Mole Suspects List. Then it is Flurrie and after her, I put Jojora who knows more about the game than she lets it seem."

* * *

Flurrie, Noki and Birdo were talking about everything but the game. They were eating an ice cream on the terrace of a local restaurant.

"You should totally come to Rogueport to see my fantabulous self on stage !" yelled Flurrie excitedly. "Starring in a move is like going on an adventure, maybe you two should try it."

Birdo licked her vanilla ice cream. "Mmmh ! Well, that could be cool, but I'm not sure I would do great you know. I'm also an artist, but more of a shady one if you know what I mean. Truth to be told, I wouldn't want to learn by heart a role for a play... It would be too long and boring..." Noki smiled sweetly.

"My everyday life is like an adventure... You meet all sort of people on a plane, you learn new things everyday, you travel to different places... Of course, this isn't an adventure on everyone's standards but for me it is."

"That kind of seems cool," daydreamed Birdo. "Say, why wouldn't we get back to our hotel ? I want to relax a little."

"Sure, why not ?" shrugged Flurrie. "Let's go then !"


	7. When Two Opposites Merge

_Champ_ : I just randomized the first elimination, really. For my first Mole story, everything was pre-determined, for my second one, I also pre-determined things but then I changed my mind... XD

So yeah, for the third one I will just go with the flow... I guess. ^^' XD about your hatred of Flurrie and I will change the chapters' name soon. ^^ Thanks for the review and your suspicions. ^^

_Kris_ : Sorry for Kooper... ^^' To be honest, I'm kind of glad to see that the randomizer chose him, because he is the character that I like the least (among the ten players, I mean). But yeah, it could have been cool to write about him a little more. Oh well, that's just the way it goes... Anyway, thank you for the reviews and your suspicions. ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, nine players divided into two teams of four and five members, respectively, tried to win up to forty thousand coins, competing in two different challenges, both asking for the players' collaboration. The first team, composed of Noki, Birdo, Mario, Bootler and Pauline, managed to succeed thanks to Noki's generous actions, while the second team, composed of Donkey, Jojora, Flurrie and Toad, failed to win its mission, all because of Flurrie's greediness. In the end, the nine players only added half of the money which was at stake at the time, bringing the team pot to a non negligible twenty eight thousand coins. Henceforth rested, the players will try to win the third mission of this episode. Will they be able to thwart the Mole's plans ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

7 : When Two Opposites Merge.

Wide awake since many hours, the players were peacefully resting thinking they would not have to play in another game, as they had already played in two missions. Strangely enough, the nine of them were located in the same room – the hotel's salon – and were not causing a ruckus. They were all relaxing and chatting about the game as well as their usual lives, with more or less everyone, depending of their affinities.

**Birdo** : Times like this are really rare, you know. I would like it if we had more of those, though. I mean, each day we have some people causing drama – mostly three of them by the way – and it sort of is annoying after a while. We're victims in this story, I tell you !

**Bootler** : Well, I have come to participate in an adventure. I have to confess that I was not thinking of this, when I signed up for this game. Do not get me wrong, the game is really interesting, and I sincerely wish the citizens of our kingdom would be more interested in it. Each challenge is better than another and I have to say that the host always has quite the surprise in store for us. I am ashamed to say so, but the players are terrible. Not all of them, evidently, but a good part of them nonetheless, and that is the reason why I am disappointed.

**Mario** : This game has had its ups and downs, but it's still a pretty good game anyway. I'm just a little disappointed in some players' reactions and I wish they would just be eliminated already. They spoil our fun. And that's why from now on, I will stop to get involved with them.

**Toad** : I'm playing with a bunch of killjoys. They always put on a long face... Sheesh, can't they be happy and smile for once ? I hope episode three won't be like that. Aside from that, I'm still looking for the ideal teammate. I know that some players are really close such as Birdo and Noki who look like they are sisters or something among those lines and Donkey and Jojora who seem to be plotting against Flurrie every time I look at them. I don't want to be sexist, but I really don't want to have an alliance with a girl. I mean, they can be snakes sometimes ! Plus they are really good at sabotaging everything. Not to mention, that if we make the wrong decision on a quiz, you can be sure that they will stay instead of me. Yeah, females are smart like that, they call it female instincts...but to me it's more like divination's powers. Well, let's _suppose_ that I have a coalition going on with a female. What will happen ? She will talk to me about pointless things, she will talk to me about some fashion thingy, she will talk to me about how hard the game is and the list goes on. What I mean is that I won't be able to say at least one word ! Basically, my partner would be talking and I would have to be listening to her. And I don't like when people are intruding like that in your quality time. What do you mean by "you're the one who's hogging everyone's screen-time" ?

Flurrie was reviewing her journal entries, seemingly in deep reflection. "So... Does anyone know when we will be taking that execution quiz ?" Mario shook his head, feeling as clueless as everyone.

"Monty Mole never mentioned it, you know ? It makes me think that maybe-" Mario stopped abruptly.

Bootler raised an eyebrow, watching intently Mario. "Well, do speak, good sir. You piqued our curiosity." Pauline stifled a laughter. "Yes ? What is it you wish to say ?"

"Oh nothing Bootler, don't mind me. It's just that your way of talking is pretty funny and unusual, you know. But don't take that as an offense, I just find it amusing."

"None taken. Well Mario, could you enlighten us with what could probably be the truth behind this mystery ?"

"It's simple, really," started the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, "maybe we will compete in another game soon. I mean, it's basic logic, isn't it ?"

"Yeah, maybe," shrugged Toad. "Anyway, I would like him to get here soon, because it's slightly boring around here." A familiar voice answered his request.

"Then, why wouldn't you try to be snooping as usual ?" chuckled the host, surprising most of the players.

"My god, couldn't you try to refrain from surprising us for once ?" asked Jojora, clearly peeved.

Monty Mole arched an eyebrow. "Well, my species is naturally fast, so I can't do anything about it. It's not my fault that you are all so stressed out."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, we get the point. Even though I saw some of your peers playing a soccer game during which they couldn't move their lazy butts even if they wanted to," smirked Donkey. Monty Mole was clearly offended by the player's statement but tried not to show it.

**Pauline** : That was sooo uncalled for. Right now, I really want Donkey to leave the game. Him or Jojora, I mean. Once one of them is gone, things will go more smoothly...hopefully.

The players stood silent in the room, waiting for Monty Mole to continue with his announcement. Thankfully, he quickly regained his composure and went on.

"I am here for one reason. The first one being that we still have another challenge going on before the execution ceremony and the second one being that I need you to tell me who, in this game, you wish to be eliminated next. Here, each of you take a paper and a pencil. You have one minute to decide."

Eventually, all papers and pencils returned to Monty Mole. He started to read what each player had written.

"So Birdo... Strangely, you wrote down Mario's name. Any reason why ?" Mario looked flabbergasted and the others were also looking at Birdo, confusion within their eyes.

"Well, it's kind of purely strategic, you know ? Mario is a threat, and if the threats were to 'vanish', it would make victory more easy to reach. I have nothing against Mario, I can assure you of this," she smiled truthfully. Mario let out a sigh and later on, a small chuckle, understanding why she had done this.

Monty Mole proceeded to read the next paper. "Next, we have Jojora who wrote Flurrie. Any comments or thoughts to share ?" She only shook her head as a response. "Okay... Mmmh... Another one who wrote Flurrie. This is Donkey. Do you want to say something ?"

Donkey remained silent for a minute and then began to speak. "Flurrie sabotaged. By sabotaging, she reduced the amount of coins of our team pot which will go to the winner of this game show. I want to win this game and if I win it, the money will be mine. It's only natural for a normal player to want the pot to be full of money, right ?"

**Birdo** : What Donkey said made me reflect over Flurrie's actions. So far in the game, she only sabotaged our games. She seems rather intelligent, surely more than the majority of us, so my point is that if Donkey noticed that, she couldn't miss it.

"Then we have Pauline who wrote Donkey's name. Why ?"

Pauline smiled. "I just find him disrespectful, rude, annoying and although he preaches to be a genuine player, I can't just forget that he broke many rules and made us lose almost as much money as Flurrie. I was also tempted to say Jojora, because she's almost as bad as him, and Mario, because as Birdo said, he is a threat."

**Toad** : Disregarding what Pauline said about Donkey's behavior, she's right ! Donkey is always breaking rules... That makes me think, really.

**Bootler** : I really found this amusing, and I mean it. However, it is unfortunate to see that the other contestants do not seem to understand that it will change almost everyone's perspective of the game and the players.

"Then, Bootler wrote...huh ? Funny, he wrote his own name. Any reason why you did this ?"

Bootler nodded firmly. "We were told to write the name of a player. I am a player, so I had the right to write my own appellation. Not to mention that I would like to reserve the right to keep my feelings and discoveries secret."

Monty Mole looked baffled at the next paper. It was Flurrie's. "Well, well, well... Another strange one. Flurrie, you wrote Bootler's name. Would you care to tell us why ?"

Flurrie grinned. "Well, yet another time, Bootler proved us he was sly. Sly players are threats, wouldn't you say so ?"

"Noki wrote down Jojora's name. Any explanation ?" Noki only shook her head as a reply. "Then we have Mario who wrote Flurrie's name."

"Donkey said it, you sabotage. And you are really suspicious... Although you sabotage, you still make up for it by being extremely good at those missions. Since the Mole knows what they will be doing beforehand, it would explain everything if you were this double agent."

"Last but not least, Toad. You put Noki, why ?" asked the host, seeing as the mushroom was the first player to write down the air hostess' name.

Toad rubbed the back of his chin. "I heard that because of her, the other team had almost lost yesterday's mission. To me, it appears that her decision wasn't smart at all."

"I wasn't asking you for your suspicions, but whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Monty Mole stopped talking, and everyone was waiting for another announcement to be made, but it never came. Somewhat impatient, Pauline asked the question that everyone had in mind.

"So ? What happens next ? Mario and Donkey win an exemption ? Toad, Birdo and myself win an exemption ? Does someone win an advantage or something ? I mean, what was the whole point of this 'revealing' if I may call it that way."

Monty Mole chuckled a little. "There was no point really. We just wanted to spice things up. Now you all know more or less things about everyone's point of view."

Noki sighed a little. "Don't you think it was a little low ? You could have asked us in the first place..." Monty Mole clapped his hands together.

"Who is to say that you would have been truthful if I had told you all that nothing was at stake ?" Mario coughed, showing his dissent.

"I'm not quite sure of Bootler's genuineness," he remarked.

"But you still know a little more about him than earlier, don't you ?" reasoned the host. "Well, we should get going. You know, the next challenge ?"

As he departed through the front door, everyone began to follow him, tons of thoughts racing in their heads. From then on most of them knew who they could trust and who they could not, they had also learned valuable information which they could use in a strategic way.

...

The host led the players to gate four of Pipetown. Just as they were about to pass through the door, Monty Mole asked them another question, which would determine their role in the upcoming challenge.

The host quickly spun around to face the candidates and started his speech. "Before we can go in, I need you to specify some things."

"Let me guess, roles' attribution ?" questioned Pauline, stating the obvious.

Jojora put a palm to her face. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. So, let us know what the roles are so we can start soon."

Monty Mole looked surprised, in a good way, as Jojora did not make a snappy remark for once. At least, not against him. "I need one person who likes to be the center of attention, three who have keen eyes and five for whom school brings back souvenirs. You have two minutes to decide."

Jojora spoke up before everyone. "I squarely refuse Flurrie to be the person who is the center of attention. That seems like a big role and we wouldn't want to lose another game, would we ? That's all I ask."

"I see no objection," responded Flurrie.

Mario raised his hand. "I suppose I can do it then, right ? I'm used to be the center of attention, anyway."

"And so modest with that," taunted playfully Pauline. "I have good eyes so count me in the group of three. We need two other people, who might they be ?"

"I am very sorry to tell you that I will have to settle with the reminiscent players. My eyesight isn't quite as good as it used to be," declared Bootler. Noki joined him.

"Same here, I should be wearing glasses but it's rather annoying so I'm not. What will you do Birdo ?"

"The school thing. I remember the good times I had throwing erasers and paper balls in the classroom. I have keen eyes too, though, but hey, first come, first served !"

"I call keen eyes !" exclaimed Jojora and Toad at the same time.

"So that leaves me and Donkey with the school people, right ?" inquired Flurrie, not so sure about her position.

"I guess..."

Toad announced to the host which person was doing which task. "Mario is the center of attention, Pauline, Jojora and myself are the players who possess keen eyes and the other five who are Birdo, Noki, Bootler, Donkey and Flurrie compose the last group."

Monty Mole nodded and opened the gate, the others following him to their next destination.

...

**Donkey** : It was so great that we didn't have to put weird clothes on. Last time we were all pretty pissed off at the producers because of the stupid clogs which were killing our feet, but this time we were wearing our casual clothes, so it was all good.

The players stepped out of the warp pipe happily, eight of them wondering what they were going to do, while another was fully prepared for what would come. Monty Mole faced the players, most of them giddy and anticipating the greatness of the mission.

"My, my, I do wonder what we will do in such a place. It certainly is intriguing," reflected aloud Bootler.

Toad's Midway Madness, a small amusement park full of surprises, was where they were all located at this very instant. A lively atmosphere was surrounding the nine contestants, who were all dying to know what was the mission's objective.

"Players, welcome for your fourth challenge which is called 'Split Homework'. Your goal will be, for the lone player, to be the hero and to find the solution to three anagrams. This is the goal basis. For each anagram which is deciphered, five thousand coins will be added to the pot, bringing the mission to a value of fifteen thousand coins."

"That doesn't look too good," whispered Mario to Pauline. "I've never been good with this kind of things. Pauline rolled her eyes.

"Try to be competent in this challenge, I want to win it. It's the fourth challenge and we only won twenty eight thousand coins. An additional fifteen coins would be great to add to our pot."

"The three players with keen eyes will each ride a different attraction. There, they will have to scan the amusement park to seek for letters, which they will have to transmit to Mario so he can unscramble them to find words which will lead to your success. Jojora, Toad, Pauline, there are three of you, and three attractions you need to ride. The first one is the Rollercoaster. Very fast, it can be quite hard to notice the letters if you ride it. But it's also a pretty quick ride, so you will probably not forget the letters before you communicate them to Mario," explained carefully Monty Mole.

"I don't get it. How could we forget the letters ? I mean, we only have to tell Mario what we find once we found it, right ?" questioned Pauline.

"Not quite," answered Monty Mole. "There is a catch to this challenge, you see. You can't say anything to Mario when you are on an attraction. You have to wait for it to stop to talk to him. Was I clear enough ?"

**Jojora** : Missions during which we are divided are no fun, because then you have to ask people about what they might recall, and you can never trust anyone in a game like this. Whether they are lying intentionally or not, they never tell the one and only truth. Add to this that sometimes they twist the reality because it suits them and you become paranoiac. The only way for me to be sure of something is to see it for myself.

"That certainly answers a lot of my questions," confirmed Toad.

"Okay. Then we have the Ferris Wheel, while it moves at a moderate pace, one ride on it is longer than a ride on the Rollercoaster AND you can only see the letters when you are a little below its top. The last attraction is the Chu-Chu Train. Well, it's slow and as such, it is also a very long ride so you might need a good memory to recall all the letters you will see. You can ride the attractions as long as our virtual chronometers last on their part of the task. Yes, I mean your group Noki, if you were wondering." Monty Mole marked a pause. "Well, before I explain what the last five will do, I would like you three to tell me which ride you will...ride."

**Birdo** : As far as I knew, I thought there would be sabotage. And not only from one individual. We really needed to act as a group in this mission because everyone was depending on everyone. And let's say that cooperating has never been our forte.

"I call the Ferris Wheel !" yelled the damsel in red.

"I call the Rollercoaster !" chirped an excited Toad.

"Well, it leaves me with the train..."

"Good !" exclaimed Monty Mole. "Now you five, for whom school brings back souvenirs, your task is simple. You have to keep on answering questions that I will ask you. Once you fail to answer one of them, you are out. If more than one person fails to answer a question, you will get to choose who continues to play and who stops. For each question, you will have two minutes to think of an answer. You also have stationery at your disposal so make good use of it. Well, if you are ready, we can start !"

...

Mario was brought to a room, inside a lottery, in which was a board, pieces of chalk, a desk, paper, pens and a walkie-talkie. He sat on a chair and looked at the board.

**Mario** : There were three lines, I guess one for each riding player. Problem was that I didn't even know how many letters there were in each word... I just had to rely on the other three while I didn't trust them one bit. It was going to be hard.

"So let's see... What if they don't find the letters we need ? We're pretty much screwed in my opinion," he stated, facing the camera. "I don't suspect them so much, but still, they all made at least one mistake which cost us money, and it's only the second episode too. If they all performed so poorly until now, how do I know that it won't continue like this ?"

...

"You know, if I had known beforehand that we were going to one of my places, I wouldn't have volunteered to be a player with keen eyes, just to let the others have more fun. Oh wait. I wouldn't have known that I would have to ride an attraction anyway, so it doesn't change a thing," finally remarked the young player.

Toad was putting on the security when a producer told him that for his part of the challenge, he had to watch for yellow letters on blue panels.

"Wait ! Does that mean that I-AAAAAAAAH !"

But he never had the time to finish his sentence as the rollercoaster began its course.

...

Pauline was slowly making her ascension to the very top of the Ferris Wheel. Comfortably sat in her nacelle, she was amused. While the others were surely panicking at the moment, she was relaxing on a peaceful ride, waiting for white letters on pink panels to appear in her field of vision.

"Life's just so sweet with me, sometimes !" she commented with glee.

...

Jojora was located on the top of the Chu-Chu Train, carefully watching her surroundings. The producers had told her that it was safe and that she didn't need to worry about a thing but to look for black letters on orange panels.

"Ah ! I see a 'E' ! I should write that somewhere..." She paused. "Oh right, we have to rely on our memory, that's just great !" she remembered, her voice full of sarcasm.

**Jojora** : I noticed that more and more players were giving me the cold shoulder. Actually, it's been a while, but I never really paid any attention to it. You know, I thought it would be pointless to make friends or to at least be in good terms with everyone, but I changed my mind after what Pauline said earlier. Not that I care about her superficial opinion, mind you. Right now, I think that Donkey is the player the least liked, because he is a little less gentle than me. But ! If he were to be executed, everyone would most likely try to avoid me like the plague. Basically, if Donkey leaves and if I still act the same way, I think I won't last long. It's better to be safe than sorry, or so they say.

...

Bootler, Donkey, Noki, Flurrie and Birdo all took seats at the front of the amusement park's entrance, waiting for Monty Mole to start with his questions.

**Birdo** : That so wasn't what I had in mine when I chose to be part of this group !

**Bootler** : I must say, this is quite original and unorthodox.

**Donkey** : I haven't studied for a long time, so I really don't know how it will turn out. I'm counting on Noki and Bootler to ace the competition anyways. Flurrie and Birdo... They aren't the brightest of the bunch if you get what I mean.

"Well, I already told you what you were going to do, so I see no use in repeating what was already said. Let's begin the game, now ! How much make two plus two ?"

"Are you kidding me ?" asked a baffled Donkey, which expression mirrored that of the other players.

Nonetheless, they all managed to find the answer to this rather simple question, and wrote it down on their slate.

"Good," approved Monty Mole. "Now, what is the name of the Mushroom Kingdom's capital ?"

In a few second everyone finished to write their answer. Once again, the host approved their answers and moved on to the third question. "What is the most famous piece which featured Flurrie as the main protagonist ?"

Two minutes passed, and the players revealed their answers. "I'm sorry, but that is incorrect Donkey. You have to leave this area."

Donkey threw a hand in the air. "Whatever !"

**Noki** : I don't know whether Donkey sabotages or not, but what I'm sure of is that he's always doing it at the most appropriate time. It just feels like it's another one of his excuses. He could be the Mole, I'm sure of that.

"What is the name of the coastal town of the Sarasaland ?" asked the host.

"Is it me or are the questions becoming harder as the time pass ?" questioned Birdo to the others.

"I think you're right," confirmed Noki. "But still, I don't find this too hard..."

"Well... We started a few minutes ago. Hopefully it stays that way."

They all returned their slates and were happy to see that they were right, once again. "What expresses the prefix 'mis' ? I want a complete answer of course."

The players all took their time to detail their answer before showing it to Monty Mole. "Well, it seems like you all did great – wait a minute ! Birdo, you are out. You forgot that it also could express the idea of lack of."

"Oh well, good luck guys..."

**Flurrie** : It is really bothering me to see that Donkey blatantly sabotages and that Birdo always seems to be the reason why we are almost losing missions. So far, she forgot one little thing during mission one, she tripped on a banana peal and made us lose episode one's last challenge, she practically gave up on the windmill wheel and now she fails at a simple language question. That's hard to believe.

...

Mario was hopping up and down with impatience, slightly aggravated to see that no one had tried to contact him yet. He reached for his journal and tried to recollect his thoughts as he noted something down in his journal.

"I now know that I have to be careful of Birdo and Pauline. If they think that I'm a threat, they will try to give me false information in hope that I leave the game. But that's not going to happen, I'll be extra careful from now on," the red hero explained. He then laughed. "That's sort of weird. You would expect them to want the saboteurs to be eliminated, but no. They want to get rid of a good team player. And what's even more funny is that Pauline and Birdo are really suspicious. At least for me."

Suddenly, Mario sprang up of his chair, a noise coming from the walkie-talkie startling him. "Yes, who's here ?"

"It's me !" responded a familiar voice. Mario smiled and shook his head.

"Right Toad. Do you have any letter for me ?"

"As a matter of fact, I do ! Are you ready ? R, U, L, A, L, M, O, I, and A ! That's all I saw for now. I'll contact you later !"

"Wait ! How will you know that you didn't already tell me some letters ?" Mario stopped him.

"Wow... Good point, I never thought of it that way... But, it's like, impossible to find all the letters at once. I'm not even sure I will get them all. Maybe you will have to guess to find the words we need... There must be some logic behind them, you know ? Well, anyway, I'm off !"

* * *

_Next chapter, we will know what the outcome of this mission is as well as who is the Mole's second victim. Well, if you leave a review, could tell me what your suspicions are ? It's always fun to see people's train of thoughts. ^^_

_Until next time ! ^^_


	8. A Ride Home

**DryBonesKing** : I'm glad you like it ! Thanks for your comment ! And yeah, Bootler is awesome ! ^^ The little reveal might change things, we'll never know. XD

**Champ** : Yeah, but Toad's speech was for the lol's. ^^'' That's funny, because for once I thought Bootler had talked a little more than the other times. XD Anyway, I'm glad you like this story and thank you for your comment !

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, players had to tell the host which person they would like to see leaving the game. Donkey and Mario were first, because people thought they were respectively rude and a threat. Bootler avoided the drama by saying his own name, making some people think he was sly enough to be the Mole. Afterward, the players were led to Toad's Midway Madness, where their fourth challenge took place. Divided into three groups, their goal was to decipher three anagrams which letters would be given by three riders while five players were acting as chronometers. Last time, only Toad found some letters and already two virtual chronometers were out : Birdo and Donkey. How will this mission conclude ? Who will be the second victim of the Mole ? And who is this mysterious individual ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

8 : A Ride Home

Mario was impatiently tapping the tip of his pencil on the paper he was facing. When he chose to take this role, his assumed it would be something exciting, something he was accustomed to but it wasn't the case apparently. With no idea as to what to do, he decided, once again, to look at his diary entry.

"Good thing is that I can't be eliminated tonight. And that's a relief. Still, I still have no idea as to who the Mole is with all the suspicious actions that have been made until now. I would like to have a coalition with someone, but most likely everyone sees me as a threat, so it's not the best idea I've had."

Another voice came out of the walkie-talkie. "Mario, are you here ? I think I've got everything you need. It's Pauline if you couldn't tell." Mario rolled his eyes knowing fully well that she wouldn't see it.

"So, the letters are ?" Mario inquired.

"Wait a second..."

**Mario** : I was curious. Why did it take so long for her to remember her letters ?

"Here. I hope you're ready ! E, C, E, Y, S, D, R, L, L, A, I, U, T, F. I think that's everything. I doubt I forgot a letter, because you know, the I was pretty high and I could see everything from where I was sitting. And remember, you better not screw up ! See ya !"

This prompted Mario to roll his eyes, once again. Eventually, when he understood that she would not say another word, he began to unscramble the letters to see which two words he could come up with.

Mario sighed. "This is going to be a long day..."

…

Now freed of any obligation, Pauline chose to ride once again the Ferris Wheel, thinking it would not hurt to have a little fun in this giant amusement park. As she relaxed in the nacelle, her eyes scanned the landscape and locked on a balloon shaped as a mole.

**Pauline** : That didn't look like a clue to the Mole's identity in my eyes, but it must have meant something since this game is one gigantic puzzle. So I made my decision : I decided to take a look at what was around that area. It was certainly smart of myself to do so.

Once her ride was finished, Pauline hopped off and began to make her way to the place where the balloon shaped as a mole was supposed to be, hiding among the crowd so Jojora would not see and question her after the the challenge was finished. Pauline found it and untied its string. A look of disappointment was displayed on her face.

"That's weird... There's like only one balloon like this one in the entire park... Yet it doesn't seem to have any particularity at all," she observed. "Well, I might as well put it back to where it was..."

…

Jojora struggled. Remembering all those letters was not quite easy in her opinion. "This mission...is by far the hardest to which we've ever played. The sheep were rather easy to handle compared to those anagrams."

The train had only covered three quarters of its route. Jojora sighed.

**Jojora** : I can't say it was hard. But it was so boring that you couldn't focus on your task at all. I'm sure I forgot some letters.

…

Back at the park's entrance, the three remaining players had some trouble. Visitors were now looking at them with amusement, making them nervous. Birdo and Donkey had tried to drive back the crowd, but to no avail.

**Donkey** : I wanted to punch those morons in the mouth, because they were so close to make us lose more money. Flurrie wasn't affected by their presence, but Noki was. And everyone was depending on her.

**Noki** : It was so stressful to see the crowd watching us as if we were wild animals... Seriously, couldn't they do something else than to laugh at us ?

"Well, good job, it's been a while since we started this mission, so I'll give you the opportunity to drink a little. You can rest for two minutes and then we will continue with the challenge," announced the host, most to the relief of some players who saw the crowd scatter.

Birdo walked toward Noki, Bootler and Flurrie, to congratulate them about their performance. "Wow, you guys are doing well ! I cant believe I was out with a single stupid mistake though. Here take this water."

"I appreciate it," nodded formally Bootler as he took one water bottle. "I wonder what the host has in store for us..."

Flurrie giggled. "I wouldn't mind knowing it either, it would make our game so much more easier !"

"Well," pondered Noki, "it wouldn't be much of a challenge if we knew everything from the beginning, don't you think so ?"

"I suppose you're right," considered Flurrie. "We all signed up for an adventure, after all."

"But all of us didn't sign up for the same adventure," Donkey made them remember. "Well Monty's back so we should better leave you to try to win this challenge for us. Good luck."

Monty Mole came back after two minutes sharp had passed, and Birdo and Donkey decided to remain on the sidelines, struggling to prevent people from disturbing their allies. "So, I suppose we can start again ?" he asked. "Let's move on to...enigmas !" he continued with a mischievous smile.

"As you wish," answered Bootler, totally unfazed by the host's surprise. "Shall we commence then ?"

The host smiled, more to himself than to the players. "Very well. Let's suppose that a cell is located into a bottle full of liquid. Each minute, this very cell split in two. The newly born cell then split in two other cells the next minute, and it goes on that way. Assuming that the bottle is full within two hours, and assuming that you start with two cells instead of one. How long, in minutes, will you have to wait before the bottle is filled up with cells ?"

Noki quickly wrote down an answer, while the other two took more time to consider the problem they had to solve.

**Flurrie** : I was highly suspicious about Noki's performance in the challenge. It was as though she had known the answers beforehand. Had you been there, you would have thought the same, I would bet my life on it.

"Reveal your answers," commanded Monty Mole. "Mmmh... Boother, that is wrong. The correct answer was one hundred and nineteen minutes, for it would be exactly the same experience as before except for the fact that the cell would have already divided itself in two."

**Bootler** : I was so focused on my mathematics that I never realized the problem was actually quite easy to solve. I was ashamed with myself.

**Birdo** : Huh what ? Even _I_ knew what the answer to this question was. That's saying how easy it was I mean, since I'm not that much into this hard stuff at all. Bootler could have tried to put some pressure on both Flurrie and Noki, you know. And I think he couldn't sabotage earlier, because everyone would have obviously suspected him as the Mole. Speaking of the Mole, I still don't know who it is... And two people are exempted from tonight's execution... I'm really afraid it will be between me or Noki, you know, the others seem more confident than us... I really really really want to stay in the game... Being the deceiver's second victim would suck so much... And no, I'm not pity-partying, you Luma Boy !

"Okay, next one... A classic one, as it is... Two Toad are hung up to a rope each, over boiling lava. One of them is a true innocent Toad, who never lies at all. The other one is a robot, which looks just the same as the true one. You have to ask them one question and hope for an answer that will determine who is who. What question will you ask ?"

Flurrie was puzzled and had apparently no idea as to what she had to write down. After a few moments, she decided to try a random question, while Noki took her time to think of a rational answer.

"Flurrie, you are out, Noki, you were correct. 'What would say the other Toad if I asked him who the right one was ?' was the right answer. But I guess it could have worked the other way around."

Flurrie walked toward the bench on which were sat the other players. "We're pretty much screwed now," Donkey told Birdo.

"Yup. Totally," was her answer.

…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !" yelled Toad fearfully, as the rollercoaster was going through the loop at full speed. He closed his eyes, afraid of what he could have seen.

"Okay, I'm definitely gonna barf if it keeps on going at full speed like that," he commented, both of his hands on his mouth.

**Toad** : Actually, I never was afraid of rollercoaster... I was more afraid of me vomiting in front of the world. Hehe... Anyways, you can't blame me, I couldn't know that it would be so extreme to ride it continuously... I knew I shouldn't have eaten that much.

However, when his ride ended, Toad was puzzled. Where were the missing letters Mario needed to complete this challenge ? Toad had no idea as he began to talk to Mario.

"Hey Mario !" he started. "Huh ? Why doesn't he respond to me ?"

"What do you mean you forgot half of your letters ?" came the voice of Mario thought the communication device.

"I didn't !" half shouted and half murmured Toad.

"Look, I don't know how much time we have left, but you better have a good idea to get us out of this mess ! I know you have the longest ride of the three, but still, it isn't so good of an excuse. C'mon, ! Go go go !"

"Aaaah... I get it. He was speaking with Jojora..."

Toad waited a moment and spoke again in the walkie-talkie. "Mario, it's Toad. Unfortunately, I have NO idea as to what the other letters are. Seriously, I've kept my eyes peeled for the last three rides of so, but I never saw them. Sorry, it seems that you're on your own now..."

…

The blue fairy cursed. She was quite annoyed at the slowness of her ride, and wanted it to accelerate a little just so she could come back in time to give Mario all of her letters.

"I should have been with the school players, they seem to be doing good after-"

_To the players of the Mole ! Your host, Monty Mole, kindly informs you that only one person of the school group is still standing, the other four being already out. I repeat, to the players of the Mole ! Your host-_

"Crap. I jinxed it," muttered Jojora as she slapped her forehead.

**Jojora** : I decided to cheat. And mind you, cheating was the best thing I could have done in this challenge, at least for myself. I'll explain. Firstly, even if we were penalized afterward, it didn't matter, because at least we would have won some money for the team pot. Secondly, cheating while you know that you are cheating is seen as a blatant sabotage by the other contestants. So, in a way, I was helping the team and helping myself to get further into the game.

…

Letters given by Pauline : E, C, E, Y, S, D, R, L, L, A, I, U, T, F.

Letters given by Toad : R, U, L, A, L, M, O, I, A, R, M, S, S, E.

Letters given by Jojora : P, H, I, O, M, E, A, A.

Mario was still trying to discover the meaning hidden behind Pauline's letter, when all of a sudden, he pointed his finger to the board and shouted "EUREKA" !

"Errr... Cut that part at the final montage, will you ?" ordered an embarrassed Mario to the camera he was facing. "Anyway, I think Pauline forgot one letter, and that's why I had trouble finding the solution of her anagram..."

Mario stood up from his chair and walked briskly to the board. He took a piece of chalk and began to write. "Now that I know what kind of words they expect me to find, I think I'll be more efficient," Mario declared after having written the words 'Deceitful Players'.

He turned back and went back to his chair. "Now... I think it might form a full sentence..."

**Mario** : In all honesty, it was like a puzzle of a mathematics problem. Once you figured out the first two or three steps, it all begins to make sense. Well, I have to admit that sometimes, it doesn't make much sense, but whatever.

"I think I got it ! Liars...a word that begin with a 'A' and another one which starts by 'compuls' and finishes by a 'E'. Maybe..." Mario trailed with his sentence. He immediately went to the board and wrote 'And Compulsive Liars'. "Now, I just have to wait for Jojora. Let's hope that whoever's left will hang on a little bit longer..."

…

"Ten candles are lighted in a room. A rush of cold air coming from the window blows out three of them. Assuming that you shut the window, how many candles will remain ?"

Noki immediately wrote down an answer on her slate, smiling to herself. The other four were rather confident with their own answers, even though they could not state them.

"Reveal your answer, " commanded Monty Mole. The others' hope faded away when they saw Noki's answer.

"That is correct," Monty Mole nodded. The other four were dumbfounded. "Three is indeed the right answer. Assuming three of the candles are blown out, only seven of them remain lit and as such, they will continue to melt until they are no more."

**Flurrie** : The more time passes, the more I'm being suspicious of Noki. Some of those riddles were almost impossible to solve, yet she was still able to answer them. Furthermore, there is something definitely fishy with her.

"An old man who lives in Dry Dry Outpost has two sons. He wishes to leave one of his sons his inheritance. For that, he gives them two camels and tells them that the one whose camel will arrive the last to Sec-Sec Town, a little village situated at twenty leagues of their position, will have it. Obviously, the two young men try to use all the subterfuges they know to stay in last, but to no avail. Having only covered one hundred meters at the end of the day, they decide to leave their camels where they were and to head to a local bar. There, the barman hears their predicament and give them a two words advice. The next day, the camels are nearly dead. What advice did the barman give them ?"

**Bootler** : There was practically no way of knowing the answer to this riddle. Riddles are like mysteries. One never understands them the first time they hear about them. But should they hear them again at any point of their life, they will recall the answers. Do you see where I intend to go with this reasoning ? Unless Noki heard about them before, she had no way to know the answer to such hard enigmas. And what better way she had to hear about them than to be the Mole ?

It seemed as though Noki was pondering very hard at this very moment. Ultimately, she wore a confident smile as she showed her answer to Monty Mole. "That is correct. 'Change Camels' is the advice he gave them. Once they changed of mount, they raced each other, knowing that if they were first, they would make the other lose."

**Noki** : I'm sure people saw me as suspicious during that challenge... Oh, I hope they don't think I'm the Mole or it could be really bad...

At the same moment, Pauline and Toad appeared in the distance, waving at their friends.

"Wow, you guys suck so much !" joked Toad as he approached them. Pauline smiled uneasily.

"I'm not sure we did better than them..."

"Riiight," sighed Toad, reminded of the fact that he had been unable to find all the letters he needed to give to Mario.

"When you are far away from it, you don't think about it. When you approach it, you think about it. When it is here you don't think about it anymore. What is it ?" inquired the host.

Once again, Noki took her time before writing a single word. "Death is indeed the correct answer, but I guess that you could think about the end of the game as well as the Mole's identity as answers. Quite funny actually, right ?"

…

Jojora could see the end of her ride. Soon enough, assuming that Mario was done with the two other anagrams, they would be done with their challenge, because Jojora had already found the hidden meaning behind the fourteen letters she had to give to Mario.

As soon as she arrived, she took her walkie-talkie and blurted out the answer to Mario. "My guess would be 'To play the game'," she told him.

"How would you know that ?" came Mario's voice on the other end of the non-existing line.

"Just write it already !" groaned a rather forceful Jojora. "Look, I wrote all the letters down and it was the only thing that would make sense in a game like this. Plus, you told me that you needed four words the last time I talked to you, so how could I be mistaken ?"

Mario was silent. "Fine. I'm writing it. Here, happy ?"

"I'll be happy once this damn mission is finished !" retorted Jojora. "Ring the bell so we can do something else, something more productive."

The bell rang.

The mission was finished.

Would the fifteen thousand coins get into the players' pot ?

…

"Welcome everyone ! I hope you all had fun here."

Jojora rubbed her temples. "One, it was no fun, and two, we've already seen you today, so why greet us ?"

"Errr... I just thought of being polite, you know. But anyway, I'm going to sump up how this mission went. That way, everyone will have a bit of insight into what truly happened."

Donkey raised his hand in the air. "What do you mean by 'truly' ?"

"Well, everything isn't what it seems to be, there's always more than meets the eye... Anyways, as you all know, five players were playing the role of chronometers. Noki was the only one who survived until the end of the game, so congratulations to her !" The host clapped for her, as did the others.

"Unfortunately, I think that some players were relying a little too much on you, my dear friend. Notably Donkey and Birdo who dropped out almost at the beginning of the game. Bootler and Flurrie went on quite a long time, but eventually failed when it came to enigmas. Then, we move on to Toad, Pauline and Jojora, who were the ones in charge of gathering the letters needed for Mario to decipher the three anagrams. I'm afraid to say that it didn't go quite well, but I'll come back to this later," Monty Mole added, before anyone could interrupt him.

"As you all know, Mario was in charge of discovering what the hidden words were. Let's see what he found... 'Deceiful Players', 'And Compulsive Liars', and 'To Play This Game'..."

"Well, I don't know about you, but it seems splendically right !" cheered Flurrie.

Monty Mole shook his head. "Out of these three discovering, two out of three are right. I'm afraid Mario, that 'And Compulsive Liars' is wrong. The correct words were 'Liars are Compulsory'."

Bootler put a hand to his chin. "That does not seem very English in my opinion."

"Well, we never said the words you had to discover spelled some sense. You thought they were. Anyway, Mario did not find Toad's word, but Toad did not give him all the letters he needed to form it. Any explanation ?"

"Well, as you have so well-said, I didn't find those letters. I have no idea as to where they were, but I can tell you that they had to be hidden somewhere I wouldn't have thought to look at," explained the mushroom.

Monty Mole nodded. "I see. Well there's something else I have to tell you all. Pauline and Jojora cheated."

**Birdo** : But I thought there was only one Mole ? Can't they do anything right ?

Everyone but the two girls mentioned was shocked by this news. This time, it was Mario who spoke up. "Could we have a little more detail about the way they cheated ?"

"Sure, I was going to say it anyway. Toad, Pauline and Jojora were told to use their only memory to give you their letters. Toad did that, but unfortunately, he came five letters short. However, Pauline and Jojora both use a pencil and a paper to write down the letters they saw. Mario, I think that you were surprised when Jojora told you the right answer, weren't you ? Now I guess that you know why Toad was struggling and why Pauline and Jojora had an easy time. Any explanation girls ?"

Jojora stepped up. "I prefer losing a small portion of coins than to lose it all, that's all I'm going to say."

"Well, actually, I thought it would be impossible to do it without cheating. And like Jojora said, it was better to lose two thousand coins than five thousand coins. And before you start asking me why I know that, it's because the three of us were told so by the crew just before we started the game," winked the lady in red.

**Donkey** : If Jojora did it, it must mean that it was difficult, but come on ! Pauline was on the Ferris Wheel which was probably the easiest of them all !

"Well, I guess that explains it. Out of fifteen thousand coins, you won six thousand of them. Nice try !"

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 15 000 – 5 000 – 2 000 x 2 = 6 000

Team Pot : 34 000 coins.

"We SUCK !" screamed Toad, frustrated. "If I remember correctly, in season one, they had already won forty five thousand coins and in season two, they had already won seventy one thousand coins ! We might as well put on dunce caps, symbols of our mediocrity."

Birdo rolled her eyes. "Right. As if you hadn't your part of responsibility in this fiasco. Remember that it's only episode two too !"

"Oh yeah, and we hid a balloon shaped as a Monty Mole in this very park. If you were to burst it, you would see that there's an exemption inside of it," smiled slyly the host.

It was Pauline's turn to be aggravated. "Oh come on ! Are you kidding me ? I gave this balloon to a little girl who was leaving the park ! Well, talk about a failure !"

"Well, excuuuuse-me, princess. Anyway, you won't have dinner in a hotel tonight, so eat something while you're here. Oh, and tonight, we have our second execution quiz. Will you be a strategist, trying to gather as much information as you can, or will you be a dilettante, having the time of your life in this amusement park ? This is up to you ! Later !"

Pauline was the first one to leave. "Well, I'm sorry, but I have to find the bathroom ! See you later guys !" She ran out at a fast pace. The others were left puzzled by her sudden urge to go to the restroom, while Monty Mole chuckled to himself.

"What is it you wish to say, dear host ?" asked Bootler, confused about Monty Mole's behavior. Monty Mole never said a thing. Instead, he directed them with his eyes to a nearby sign, indicating something very interesting.

The bathroom was at the opposite direction to the one Pauline took. Immediately, realization spread out on the players' faces. "Oh, the little weasel !" yelled Donkey. "Everyone, after her ! She went after the exemption !"

On the side, Mario, Flurrie and Monty Mole were seen chuckling. "Well, I never said anything, so you can't say that I alluded to something nor that I influenced them."

Flurrie giggled. "You _really_ are a sly one, aren't you ?"

"Heh, I try my best."

…

Donkey, Jojora, Noki, Birdo, Bootler and Toad were chasing after Pauline, but soon enough, they realize that it was useless. That was before Noki had located her.

"Look, she's here !" yelled Noki with all her might, which was not too much considering her petite nature.

"Where ?" roared Donkey. "Crap, we're too late ! She has the mole balloon !"

"Tough luck guys !" she called when she heard them. She then proceeded to take her high-heel in her hand and burst the balloon with its help. A green card fell onto the ground, green card that Pauline picked from the ground.

"Oh well, it was well-played on her part," applauded Birdo.

"Indeed," Bootler conceded. "What shall we do now though ?" he asked at no one in particular. Just then Mario and Flurrie caught up with the seven of them. "Should we talk about the game or should we enjoy ourselves ?" Nobody had the answer.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think that me and-" Donkey was abruptly cut off by Noki.

"I know what we could do !" she exclaimed. "Let's all take a photograph right here, right now ! After that I'll leave you alone, but please, let's take a picture ! Too bad Kooper isn't here anymore though..."

Jojora looked at Donkey, who shrugged. "Well, it seems that nobody is against it, so why not ?"

**Jojora** : We decided to play the nice guys, you know. Plus a photograph won't kill us.

Surprisingly, everyone complied to Noki's request, and they took a picture of themselves...together. Needless to say, Noki was the happiest of the group at this very moment.

"Well, why wouldn't we grab something to eat girls ? I'm starving !" suggested Birdo. Flurrie let out a chuckle.

"Why not, it would be great," graciously declared the cloud spirit.

The three girls left, and so were going to Pauline, Toad and Bootler, before Mario called for them. "Would you mind waiting here for a bit please ? We have something to ask you about..."

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "Seeing as you waited for the three girls to depart, I suppose it is about one of them. Am I wrong ?"

"No you aren't. Listen," started Jojora. "Flurrie hogs all of the exemptions. Donkey and I want her gone, because while she takes her precious things, she makes us lose more money."

"Well, who's to say that it will continue like this ?" smartly spoke Toad. "And let's suppose that she's gone... Also, who's to say that you won't be the one to take the exemption ? You know, I won't be part of your plan unless you give us good reasons to do so."

"Fine. Bootler, did you listen to what she said this morning about you ? She considers you as a threat. I think that you got my point, right ? If she wants you out, she'll try to give you false information so it would be only logical to do the same to her... Or at least, not to say her anything useful."

"I would rather not do it, but you are right," Bootler sighed, defeated. "I hope I will not regret this."

Donkey waved his finger around. "We just want you not to give her any useful information. You can still talk to her if you wish to."

"As for me, I'm already in," continued Mario. Pauline gasped.

"Since when ?"

"Since they asked me, duh." Pauline tapped her feet impatiently against the ground. "Okay, since the previous challenge !"

Jojora thought of something. "It's just for the next episode, you know. If she isn't gone by the third episode, we stop this little coalition of ours. Oh, and if you join, we will share the information we acquired with you for both this episode and the next one. Is that a deal ?"

Pauline and Toad looked at each other before nodding. "We have a deal," they proclaimed at the same time. Jojora added one last thing.

**Toad** : I wasn't particularly happy to make a deal like this, but oh well... It will definitely help my chances, should I make it to the next episode.

"And, assuming that she leaves the game during episode three... That will mean that we will all be safe for another episode ! Isn't that great ?"

Mario laughed. "Oh yeah, I had totally forgotten about this when you asked me the first time. But it's true, and it's another reason to join."

"What do we do now ?" asked Toad. "We talk about the game or...?"

Donkey shook his head. "Let's talk later, when we eat, for example. The girls already left to grab a little something to eat, so we know that they won't show up later. Unless they're pigs, of course. Let's meet up here in...two hours, okay ?" Everyone nodded and went to do whatever they wanted to do.

…

Birdo, Noki and Flurrie made their way to the only restaurant of Toad's Midway Madness, like they had said before. The three of them were laughing between each other, having a good time. However, two of them could not help but to be anxious about the upcoming quiz. With three people having an exemption out of nine, it lowered their chance to make it to the next episode by a third. And that was only if the Mole hadn't won an exemption during this episode.

Flurrie floated to a nearby comfy chair and sat down. "I hope that we'll all make it to the next round girls !" Birdo smiled.

"As we do Flurrie, as we do... I wonder if the others are having a good time out there... Too bad everyone doesn't get along with everyone or we could have stayed together," sighed Noki.

"Well I doubt that we all like the same things. We wouldn't have stayed together anyway, even if Donkey and I had liked each other," She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he thinks of me as an exemption whore. But whatever, it's not like his opinion mattered to me."

"Still, it would improve our collaborative work so much ! Oh well, you can't force people, can you ?" shrugged Birdo.

"Yeah, that's sad really..."

"Well, now that we're talking about collaborative work, how about we try to piece things together ? I say us three to the final four !"

"Huh ? Why not to the final three ?"

"Mmh, hello Birdo, what about the Mole ?" reminded her Noki. Birdo hit her forehead.

"Gosh, I can be so slow sometimes !" she laughed. Flurrie and Noki glanced at one another for a brief time, then shrugged it off.

"Well, who is the most suspicious player, as of now ?" asked Flurrie.

"In my eyes, I would definitely say either Donkey Kong or Pauline," answered Birdo. "Sometimes, the obvious answer is the right one."

Noki put her finger to her mouth. "That's hard to say, with all the sabotages that have occurred since the beginning of the game... I'm suspecting the quiet characters, like Toad and Bootler. Toad failed quite a few time already, as did Bootler. The later one, though... Well, I don't know really. My gut instinct tells me to go with Bootler, but I'm not dumb enough to based my answers on a single player."

"You know what's funny ? Nobody considers that Mario could be the Mole. Same with Jojora. But Jojora is more than a suspect in this story. Anyway, when Toad didn't find his letters a few hours ago... Mario still managed to figure out a word, and strangely it wasn't the right one."

Noki looked at Birdo a few seconds. "You're right ! But what would you have done in his place ?"

Flurrie nodded. "Exactly, you would have done the same. But that's because you are not the Mole. I honestly think his mistake was an awesome cover..."

Birdo held her head in her hands. "What I wouldn't do to have a clue right now... This is so confusing... We'll all have what we deserve in the end, so best of luck to the three of us."

**Noki** : Three people have an exemption... I have to answer my quiz quickly and efficiently. Oh please, make it work ! I don't want to be eliminated tonight.

…

Flurrie, Donkey, Noki, Bootler, Birdo, Toad, Pauline, Mario, Jojora. The nine of them met up with their host, later this night, near the Rockets, an attraction which involved...rockets. It was time for them to take their second quiz.

"I wish success to all of you. May the most knowledgeable player emerge at top !"

_ 1. Did the Mole win an exemption during this episode ?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Toad** : I guess I'll go with the 'No' on that question, since you know, five players didn't receive an exemption. We're all really stressed for this quiz... Three players having an exemption ? That's huuuge... And that's risky for the other ones, above all.

_ 2. The Mole is..._

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Pauline** : Well, even if I don't really care for my results on this questionnaire, I still need to think about it. For now, I think the Mole is a female, just for the reason that females make better Moles than men. What ? I'm not sexist, just realistic, we are by far weaker than men, so we can take advantage of that weakness and make it look like it's impossible for us to do physical stuff while we actually can.

_ 3. During the first mission of this episode, the Mole was part of..._

_-The Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep group_

_-The Floral Composition group_

**Mario** : Even if our group was the one which succeed, as opposed to the Sheep group, I can't shake the feeling that the Mole could have been on ours. There were way too many things which happened. Pauline and Bootler discussing calmly and not helping me ? Very strange. Noki leaving the windmill to give water to Birdo ? Super duper suspicious. Birdo could have simply stopped running before she came back, because she took a while... Overall, Birdo is just plain suspicious.

_ 4. During the Floral Composition challenge, what was the role of the Mole ?_

_-Smart One_

_-People who are good at following orders_

_-Individual who thinks they need to suffer to be beautiful_

_-The Mole wasn't part of this group_

**Bootler** : I talked to everyone before the quiz, apparently, they are either going for Birdo, Donkey, Pauline, Noki, Flurrie or Toad. I think you get the picture. Nobody here knows who the Mole is. Except for the Mole but that is obvious. I think I have a fair chance at surviving this episode, so I will not let it go to a waste.

_ 5. When Monty Mole asked the players who they wanted to be eliminated, who did the Mole pick ?_

_-Mario_

_-Flurrie_

_-Donkey_

_-Jojora_

_-Noki_

_-Bootler_

**Donkey** : Toad appears as the most innocent of us all, but when you look at it closely, you notice that he actually has screwed up quite a bit. Mostly during the second episode though, that's why I'm not too sure about him.

_ 6. Did the Mole cheat during the Split Homework challenge ?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Flurrie** : When you think about it it was really suspicious of Pauline and Jojora. I don't know how long was their ride, because they strangely didn't want to tell me, but I highly doubt that they had to sabotage. They could have tried to memorize them... Cheating is a suspicious move, at least for me.

_ 7. During the Split Homework challenge, what was the role of the Mole ?_

_-Person who likes to be the center of attention_

_-Person who has keen eyes_

_-Person for who school brings back memories_

**Jojora** : Come on. Donkey told me that Noki was right from the beginning to the end. He also told me that she was almost always the first one to come up with a response, and that only a few seconds after the host had asked it to her ! If that's not suspicious, then I don't know what it is.

_ 8. During the Split Homework challenge, when did the Mole fail at answering questions ?_

_-They failed first_

_-They failed second_

_-They failed third_

_-They failed fourth_

_-They never failed_

_-They were doing something else_

**Birdo** : Okay, I know I didn't do great during that challenge, but I'm not the Mole ! Donkey on the other hand could very well be the Mole. For a guy who acts tough, he sure does crumble under the tiniest effort.

_ 9. What is the Mole's Journal number ?_

_-1_

_-2_

_-3_

_-4_

_-5_

_-6_

_-8_

_-9_

_-10_

**Noki** : Tonight, I chose to divide my answers on three different people. Let's hope that it works, for I am totally clueless about the Mole's identity. Hopefully, we'll get a clue soon. I took this questionnaire really fast, so maybe I'll stand a chance...

_ 10. Who is the Mole ?_

_-Mario_

_-Bootler_

_-Donkey_

_-Toad_

_-Noki_

_-Jojora_

_-Birdo_

_-Pauline_

_-Flurrie_

…

The nine remaining players all took a seat on a different nacelle of the Ferris Wheel. Monty Mole was situated below them, on the ground. Before Pauline, Mario and Flurrie entered their own nacelle, he asked for their exemptions, in order to put them in the device when their names would be called.

If the players had looked up to the sky, they could have seen an endless starry night, one of those who are the most beautiful. "Players, welcome to your second execution. As you all know it, the player who scored the lowest on the questionnaire you took earlier, will leave the game. In case of a tie, the player who was the slowest is executed. It wasn't the case tonight, but I thought it would be nice to say it another time. Let's begin now... Who wishes to start ?"

One hand was held up in the air. The Ferris Wheel turned until the volunteer was at the top.

"Bootler," stated the host, his voice booming.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

A green light shone upon Bootler, which startled him. Needless to say, he was rather relieved.

"Well, since nobody wants to volunteer... Pauline." Monty Mole passed her exemption card into the device.

**P-A-U-L-I-N-E**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Another green light shone upon another player, who wore a content smile on her face.

"Flurrie." Once again, Monty Mole used her exemption card. Flurrie moved to the top of the Ferris Wheel, waiting for the green light to appear.

**F-L-U-R-R-I-E**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"Mario." The host used the final exemption of this round and Mario's nacelle moved to the top of the attraction.

**M-A-R-I-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

A tiny hand rose from a particular nacelle. Monty Mole noticed it and entered the volunteer's name. "Toad."

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Toad let out a deep sigh, thanking the stars to be here for another episode. Jojora chose to go next.

"Jojora," smiled the host.

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

She only nodded, illuminated by a green light. Only three players were remaining. The host entered Noki's name in the computer as she moved to the top of the attraction. "Noki !" he exclaimed seriously. She was shivering.

**N-O-K-I**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

She let out a small cry of joy, but quickly regained her composure. Tonight, either Birdo or Donkey would be going home. They looked at each other mentally hoping that the person they were watching would be the one who would go.

"Donkey."

**D-O-N-K-E-Y**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED**

A red light engulfed his nacelle. The big ape's time into the game was over. Birdo watched him depart with Monty Mole, sad to see him go.

"Donkey, we must leave the game immediately. I'm sorry, you are the second victim of the Mole..."

"It's okay... Good luck everyone ! And you too Jojora ! I'm rooting for you !"

Donkey and Monty Mole left, leaving the players in a state of shock. "You mean that he wasn't the Mole ? In spite of all his sabotage ? That's crazy. I'm glad I didn't entirely vote for him though," commented Mario.

"I knew he wasn't the Mole," declared Jojora. "That's bullshit, he should still be here instead of someone... I can't believe it." She was angry at something or someone, apparently.

Flurrie sighed. "Maybe that's why he wanted me to be gone. Maybe he would have won the exemption if I hadn't taken it..."

"Overall, that's a pretty sad execution... I'm glad it wasn't me, but I feel bad for him, now that I know that he was a genuine player. Unfortunately, one of us had to go... That's the game after all !" Birdo exclaimed.

"With Donkey's execution, I think the game will go more smoothly than before, but at the same time we lost a strong player who was doing his best throughout the game. This game is like hanging on to a tightrope, you never know when you will fall," finished Noki.

…

"I know that we weren't always agreeing, but we'll miss you Donkey."

"Yeah, me too..." Donkey trailed off. "I know that I can come as an arrogant idiot, but I really don't mean all of what I said. most of the time I was just stressed out because I didn't know who the Mole was, and it was getting to my nerves... That and I was pissed off at Flurrie, because you know, I was really trying my best and she didn't care for our work... I'm pretty disappointed with myself, I thought I could have gone further into the game, but here I am, standing as the second victim of the Mole."

Monty Mole smiled truthfully. "Well I'm sure the others will miss too, in one way or another. What was your favorite part of the game ?"

Donkey did not answer immediately. Instead, he took a few steps towards his taxi.

"Maybe there wasn't. Maybe the game itself was my favorite part of it. Well, I think I should go. Bye."

"Take care Donkey !" shouted the host as Donkey's taxi was speeding off in the distance.

Monty Mole turned to the camera... "Seven players and a Traitor remain into the game... Who will be eliminated next ? Who shall emerge victorious of this glorious adventure that is the Mole ? And just who is the Mole ? Stay tuned for the next episode of 'The Mole : Festive Saboteur !'..."

* * *

There you go ! This players was the second victim of the Mole ! ^^

I hope you liked this chapter. ^^

Next time, we'll see how greedy the players can become, and blackmailing issues will arise. ^^' XD

As always, it would be really appreciated if you left a review with your favorite players, top suspects and everything. ^^


	9. Hunting the Mole

**Champ** : Wow... You actually are right for at least one of your predictions... XD Nice job ! Thank you for the nice review ! ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the nine players were competing in a challenge in which they all had an important part to play. Mario succeeded to find what were the answers to his question thanks to Pauline, Jojora and Toad whereas Birdo, Bootler, Donkey, Noki and Flurrie were buying time answering correctly to questions asked by Monty Mole. In the end, out of the fifteen thousand coins they could win in this challenge, they only added six thousand into the pot. After that mission, the players had time to gather their thoughts for the following execution questionnaire. Three persons were exempted during this elimination : Mario, Pauline and Flurrie. In the end, it all came down to Birdo and Donkey, the latter being the lowest scorer, thus making him the second victim of the Mole. Seven true players remain, who will be eliminated next ? And just who exactly is the Mole ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

9 : Hunting the Mole

It was morning. The sun shone brightly, like he usually did during Pipetown's summers. The players were looking a little downcast after Donkey's elimination. Or more exactly, the majority of them. Indeed, three particular girls did not mind his departure. They were Birdo, Noki and Flurrie. This tight group of three friends first thought Donkey was unlucky enough to be the next one to go home, and were a little baffled and sad at his sudden execution. But this morning, it had changed.

**Flurrie** : Of course, we really are disappointed to see someone going home during the executions, but overall, we are just glad it isn't us who go. I think Donkey's execution will probably gather everyone together rather than divide even more the group.

**Noki** : I don't want to speak ill of him while he isn't here, but you have to admit that part of our failures were directly linked to him. He brought a lot of drama into the game. Hopefully, it will be over now that he is gone, but knowing myself, I probably jinxed it once again. I also am wary of Jojora, because now that Donkey is gone and if she is the Mole, she can use his execution as an enormous pretext to sabotage or to bring more drama around.

**Birdo** : Since Donkey's execution, Noki and I greatly suspect Jojora of being the Mole. Let me explain myself... It is really unlikely that Donkey voted for her thus making him the second victim of the Mole. She sabotaged plenty of challenges, but she always blames the other people, like Flurrie for example, and gets away with this. Obviously, we said nothing to Flurrie because, well, for the final episode, there will only be two players and the Mole. We don't really want to leave someone behind but I guess we'll have to if we include her in our alliance.

The three of them were located at the hotel's terrace, enjoying drinks and ice creams.

"And to say that I had to lose some weight," chuckled heartily Flurrie. "Well, that's not for now, I guess."

"Meh, you are pretty, I don't think you should follow a diet. You're already beautiful like this, don't you think ?" rhetorically asked Birdo.

Noki giggled. "I don't know why us, girls, always talk about this." Flurrie put a hand to her chin.

"Well, it must be because we are filmed by those movie cameras. You know, we wouldn't want to look awful in front of millions of viewers."

"Wait, you said millions ?" inquired a fearful Birdo. "I-I have to check something in my bedroom, see ya later !" Birdo stood up and went inside the hotel.

"Huh ? What happened to her ?" Noki was apparently surprised by Birdo's change of attitude. Flurrie however, shrugged it off.

"It's nothing don't worry about her. She might have just realized that she was on television and well, you know how Birdo is, right ?" Noki laughed.

...

Elsewhere, more precisely near Gate 1, Jojora and her lackeys were discussing the plans of Flurrie's elimination. Pauline, Mario, Toad and Bootler were sitting underneath a palm tree, listening to her instructions. Toad took notice of this strange plant.

"I wonder what a palm tree is doing here... It seems out of place," he whispered to Pauline. The woman wearing red looked up and saw it too.

"Do you think it's a hidden clue ? I heard that the producers might have placed some in the game."

"I don't know... Maybe ? There's something weird here."

**Pauline** : When Toad told me that the palm tree was out of place, I agreed wholeheartedly. But what could that mean ? That was just a tree, right ? The Mole's identity wasn't engraved on it as far as I know, so maybe it wasn't directly pointing to the Mole. Or maybe we're over-thinking things.

Pauline nodded. "I agree, but what do you think it means ? Do you think there's an exemption in it ? Should we inspect this tree ?" Toad shrugged.

"I truly doubt that there's one, to be honest. No need to pull a Flurrie here." Pauline arched an eyebrow.

"No need to _pull a Flurrie_ ? What does it mean ?" She was clearly confused.

"Well, you know, since she's such an exemption person and always tries to grab them," Toad smiled.

"Aaaah, I see... Good one !" laughed Pauline, a little too loudly. Jojora glared at her.

"Ah-hem... What's so funny in what I've said until now, Pauline ?"

Mario and Bootler also turned to see a blushing Pauline. Mario shook his head and quickly resumed the conversation. "You know, your plan is good, but awfully suspicious. I mean, sabotaging on purpose just to get a player out ? We already don't have a lot of money into the pot, so we can't throw up challenges..."

Bootler spoke up. "I do believe that Mario is right. Additionally, I remember having seen that Toad was clearly infuriated by the lack of money situated into the team pot. I highly doubt that he would help us sabotaging. Not to mention that it is against my principles."

"We don't need to throw up all the challenges. Plus it's just for one episode, that won't kill you. And finally, not everyone will have to look suspicious. Actually I only need one person," explained Jojora, making moves with her arms.

Mario looked at her. "Who do you suggest should be the focus of attention of this episode ?"

"Why, isn't it obvious ?" Jojora asked, matter-of-factly. "Bootler." Bootler shot up from his position.

"I am sorry but I do not wish to," he clearly stated. Jojora smacked her forehead.

"Listen, you just have to look suspicious for one episode, surely it won't kill you."

Mario took Bootler's defense. "Why wouldn't you do it ? That's your plan after all... Or maybe you don't want to be the suspicious one because you are the Mole..."

"First of all, that's stupid, if I was the Mole I wouldn't come up with a plan like this one. You all agreed to be part of this operation, so you can't back up now, okay ? Otherwise, I might have to resort to low tricks and trust me, I know how to be tricky. I say that Bootler should do it because Flurrie thinks he is a threat. The question is, why is he a threat ? Simple, to her, he could likely be the Mole. But she's not sure, so she is afraid that she could lose if he stays into the game. Do you get it now ? We have more chances to succeed if Bootler is the suspicious one. Oh, and he doesn't have to sabotage much... If there's an exemption at stake, he could lose money for it and that's about it. Then, Toad and Pauline could enter onto the scene, telling Flurrie that they highly suspect Bootler because he gives off a Mole-ish aura, you know ?" Jojora more or less yelled, aggravated.

Pauline stood up and brushed her dress. "Well, I don't mind doing this. As long as we put more money into the pot in the future, I'm fine with this."

But Toad was not seeing things like this. He still kept quiet about it.

**Toad** : It kind of bugs me to see that people are being so strategic about the game and throw challenges because they want someone out. I mean, what's the point of the Mole if everyone blatantly sabotages and admits it ? Also, I don't think it's fair to Flurrie...

...

All around the table, the eight remaining players were eating their lunch, with Monty Mole watching them. Mario could not help but comment the awkward situation.

"You know, that's a bit creepy... I don't really like when people who don't eat watch me eating."

"Hahaha, sorry Mario. Anyway, I'm not here to creep you out, so I guess I will say what I have to say already. Toady you will be competing in your fifth challenge. However, if you have watched the previous seasons, you will be familiar with this mission," explained Monty Mole, careful not to stare at anyone.

Pauline wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Oh, really ? I wonder what it is..."

Jojora smirked. "It's a clue hunt, right ? It's the only challenge, with the exemption of the final journey, which happened during both previous seasons." Bootler eyed suspiciously the blue fairy.

"And how would you know that, exactly ?"

Jojora folded her arms. "Let's say that I did my homework, unlike most of you."

"Sure," scoffed Birdo, rolling her eyes. "So what's this clue hunt about ? We'll have to run to different places to find clues and then we try to find a word or something ?"

"Not exactly," answered the host. "It's actually a challenge in which you can win a lot of money for the team, if you are noble or information about the Mole if you are selfish and witted."

"You forgot to say that we could lost a lot of money if we sucked at navigating," pointed out Jojora. Monty Mole chuckled.

"That is very true. Anyway I will let you finish your meal, meet me outside once you are done."

**Jojora** : That couldn't be more perfect than that, seriously. All I have to do is to find that clue, and nobody will be able to lay a finger on me and my plans. Unless the Mole plans to reveal themselves earlier than predicted. But I doubt they would do something as stupid as that.

...

As they were told, the players headed out after lunch, to meet with Monty Mole. They already knew what was in store for them, but they still needed more details, and those details would soon come from their host.

"So we meet again," started Monty Mole. It was noticed that Jojora bit her tongue, as if refraining from making a sharp remark. "You already know more or less what you are going to do, but I still need to specify some thing. You will have one hour to find the place where the clue is located and to come back here. You will all be provided with one clue, identical for all of you, of course. Now, here's the catch : if you take the clue, you will not, and I repeat, you will not add any money to the pot. However, if you don't take the clue you will add five thousand coins to the pot."

Birdo gasped loudly. "Wow, that means we can add up to forty thousand coins... That would be totally sweet !"

Monty Mole nodded and smiled. "Indeed Birdo. Forty thousand coins can be won if you choose to stay on this very spot for an hour. Now, what I need to precise is that if you happen to be late at the rendezvous point, after one hour has passed, you will lose ten thousand coins. Penalties are individual by the way."

"So supposing that we all come back late, we will lose eighty thousand coins ?"

"Well, not exactly. We would also need to have read the clue," remarked Mario.

Pauline's left eyebrow shot up. "And how exactly do you know that the clue is readable ?"

"And that's about all... Oh yes, the clues are here, on this table," pointed out Monty Mole. "Is there any question ? No ? Well then, let's start. You may go...now !"

Monty Mole went back inside the hotel, leaving eight players clueless on what they were going to do. Suddenly, Birdo took a step and took one envelope in her hand. She eagerly ripped it open and rapidly read its contents. She nodded to herself and took a few more steps toward the center-town. "Well guys, I'll be going now ! See ya !"

Toad was the next to reach for an envelope, but he was stopped by Jojora who asked him to wait a moment. Thus, this made Flurrie and Noki the next ones to venture into Pipetown. They chose to work together and waved briefly to the others. When they disappeared from everyone's view, Jojora spoke up.

"Here's the plan, I'll be the only one to look for the clue," she started before being interrupted by Pauline.

"Wait a moment, why would you be the one to look for that important thing ?"

"And why wouldn't I, exactly ? If four of us stay here, we'll win twenty thousand coins for sure, right ?" Mario shook his head.

"And why wouldn't you wait instead of looking for that precious clue ?" Jojora sighed.

"Because it's my plan. Any other question ?" As Toad was raising his hand, she continued. "Good. Now, first, we need to invent a story for Flurrie to believe. The four of you can think about it on your own. Say something like 'Bootler wanted to make us search for the clue, it was suspicious', or something along those lines. Secondly, I need help with this clue," as she pronounced those words, she showed them the clue.

_Hello, here's the Mole ! I'll only say one thing : the clue is already in the palm of my hand !_

Toad looked at the others' hands frantically. "Come on, reveal yourself !" He noticed the strange stares that were directed at him. "What ?"

"Never mind," brushed it off Bootler. "I think there is more than meets the eye in this clue. Something does strike me as strange, can you deduce what it is ?"

"No time for silly games !" exclaimed Pauline. "Just tell us already, please."

"If that is your wish. I think that we need to look for a miniature of a mole. In its hand should be the clue."

Mario scratched his chin. "No, that can't be it. Remember, we are looking for a place. Well, at least that's what Monty said. A miniature mole would be too small for us to notice. And I'm sure that there isn't a huge mole in this town, so that must be something else."

"Hey Pauline, maybe it could be the palm tree of this morning ? You know, it was suspicious."

Pauline shrugged. "You said yourself that there probably wasn't anything on it, though. Did you change your mind ?"

"Well, it was out of place and this clue mentions a 'palm', do you get it ?" Toad asked.

"Good thinking !" smiled Pauline. "Hey Jojora, Toad found where it is ! Go to Gate 1 and look for a palm tree !"

"Okay, well then, I'm gone ! Be careful not to say anything to Flurrie and the others ! And don't forget to make up a story to convince her to vote for Bootler either !" With that, she ran toward Gate 1.

**Jojora** : Those fools... I can't believe they didn't question me further... I mean, they don't see that I'm in total control of the game right now ? If I wanted to, I could keep the clue for myself. Of course I won't, unless they decide to break our contract.

**Mario** : I'm not sure it was a good idea to let Jojora go all by herself, maybe someone should have accompanied her. But then again, we would have lost another five thousand coins, so I guess it's better this way.

...

"Excuse me sir," politely asked Birdo. "May I ask you for your help ?"

Unfortunately, she was ignored. Grumbling to herself, she tried to think about her problem for a second.

**Birdo** : There was no way I could guess what this clue meant all by myself. I think it would have been more clever to look for it with Noki. Oh well, what's done is done, I suppose.

"Well, maybe I'll have more chances if I go to some place that gathers people..."

She crossed the road and walked a little distance before reaching what she thought was a bar and opened the door. She went to the bar, and noticed a single person, cleaning up glasses. They looked at her bewildered.

"Can I ask you what you are doing in a _night_club on this sunny _afternoon_ ?"

Birdo blushed and quickly got out, feeling ridiculed. After some time, she looked annoyed at the cameraman who was following her. "I know that you are going to broadcast this on TV ! You always show the players' dumbest actions to the viewers, so no, I'm not going to ask you to remove it from the final montage !" She regained her composure and looked intently at the camera. "Or maybe I will. Please ?"

...

Flurrie and Noki were looking for the clue, but had no dice. They paused a minute and two and looked another time at the clue which was in their hand.

"It's in the Mole's palm, what does it mean exactly ?"wondered aloud Flurrie.

"I have no clue," admitted Noki. "I wish the messages weren't so cryptic sometimes."

"Well, that's the thing. I think they made it so we could understand it. That would be stupid otherwise."

"Yes, but it doesn't help much. Thankfully, we're not lost so we will add more coins to the pot. Should we go back ?" Noki besought.

"Yeah we should while we can," nodded the cloud spirit.

**Noki** : It was frustrating to finally have a chance at winning extra information on the Mole and to blow it. Such an opportunity won't present itself again before a long time... I guess it can't be helped, we should have thought about it before trying to look for the clue.

...

Jojora had run to Gate 1 in order to look for the clue, but so far, there was no sign of it. She first thought that Toad or Pauline had lied to her, but then she shook her head. There indeed was a palm tree in front of her, after all.

Somebody approached her from behind, somebody she did not know. She was going to snap at him when he offered his help. "You seem to be in a pickle, could I do anything to help you ?"

Jojora gauged him. "Would you happen to know if there is another palm tree somewhere around ?"

"A palm tree ? Strange thing to look for... But fear not, as I know there is another one near Gate 6 !"

"Really ? Oh thank you very much ! I would hug you if you weren't that ugly "

Without another word, Jojora departed to Gate 6 where she supposed the clue was waiting for her.

...

Back at the hotel's entrance, the four players left were debating whether they should follow Jojora's plan or improvise something on their own. Ultimately, it was decided to follow Jojora's instructions. Soon enough, when they saw Flurrie and Noki coming back from their clue hunt, they decided to put it in action.

"What !" exclaimed Pauline loudly, attracting Flurrie's and Noki's attention. "You want us to search now that there's less than half an hour left ? You must be mad !"

Toad joined in the charade, although he seemed clearly more somber than Pauline. "Yeah, she's right. I'm sorry Bootler, but only the Mole would want to take that risk."

"Or so you say," smartly answered Bootler, taking a glance at Flurrie's face. "I just think we could at least try to look there."

Pauline raised her eyebrow. "You know that, assuming we go to where you think the clue is, we won't have enough time to make it back in time ? Plus I sincerely doubt it is right."

"Guys, come on, it was just a suggestion, right Bootler ?" interfered Mario.

Bootler nodded with all his might. "Why, of course it was my dear. I was not forcing anyone to look for it, was it ? It was only a suggestion, as Mario said."

"Or so you say," mimicked Toad.

**Bootler** : It looked as though Toad was not even trying to play along. Maybe he does feel bad about what he is going, but he cannot renounce now that he is part of our plan. He must side with us until the next episode. Or else, Jojora will probably not give him the clue. I assumed that was why she wanted to look for the clue alone and I could be right, wouldn't you think so ?

It was then that Flurrie and Noki decided to show themselves, thinking they had heard enough. "Hey guys, we're back... Without the clue, unfortunately," Flurrie told them.

Noki laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that's too bad. I really wanted to get my hands on it."

After a few more exchanges, Flurrie moved away from the group, dragging with her Pauline. "Hey, could you tell me what happened with Bootler, we heard a little about it but I would want to know everything that happened."

"It's nothing, really," Pauline dismissed her, waving her hand. Then she looked at her interlocutor another time and divulged everything she knew. "Okay, Bootler was acting really strangely back then. He tried to have us look for the clue when he knew there wasn't much time left. He definitely knew there wasn't much time left, because he told us the clue was probably somewhere near one of the eleven gates and one time we went from the doors' location to the hotel and it took us twenty five minutes. And we weren't walking slowly."

**Flurrie** : Pauline just told me something really interesting. Maybe I'd want to share it with Noki or Birdo. Or maybe I wouldn't want to. It confirms my suspicions anyway, even if I'm not one hundred percents sure he is the Mole.

**Pauline** : Hopefully we were successful and she bought it.

...

Eventually, one hour passed. Seven players and the host were waiting for the last one to arrive. Birdo was fifteen minutes late. She was out of breath when she arrived, so Noki quickly gave her a bottle of water.

"Good ! Now that everyone is here, I shall announce the results of your mission. Let's start with Jojora. She was the only one who found the clue, so she doesn't add five thousand coins to the pot, but since she came back on time, she doesn't make you lose money."

The players clapped for her, seeing as she was the only one to find the true location, even if four players knew exactly how she pulled it out.

"Now, there's the matter of Birdo. She did come really near the clue location but never found it. Also, since she was late, she makes you lose five thousand coins."

**Mario** : It looked like Birdo did her best, I'm not going to blame her for a single mistake. Of course, this information will go into my journal, I guarantee it.

"Well, the other six, however, did not find the clue, nor did they arrived late. I'm happy to tell you that those six therefore add thirty thousand coins to your pot. Congratulations !" Monty Mole applauded.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : Thirty Thousand – Five Thousand = Twenty Five Thousand

Team Pot : Fifty Nine Thousand coins.

The players all cheered, rather happy of the number of coins they had added to the pot. Some of them had mixed feelings, predominantly about the fact that Jojora had a bit of an edge on them.

"Well, the challenge is over, you may do whatever you please until tomorrow."

"Well, this episode seems like it will be less long than the previous two," pointed out Birdo.

Monty Mole laughed nervously. "Err... You can't really expect us to create amazing challenges like the previous ones each time, can you ? Not to mention that we needed to have this one now, it would have been worthless to have it during episode four or five. Crap, I've said too much already. Anyway, see you all !"

**Bootler** : If I can deduce what he meant with his slip-up, I could gain new information. The only problem is that his mistake was too vague for me to take advantage of it. Such a shame...

...

Jojora and her four allies were holding a meeting for the umpteenth time. She was gloating about her victory and the strategy she used in the Clue Hunt challenge, most to the annoyance of the others. Finally, Toad asked her the question they all had in mind.

"So ? What are you waiting for to give us the clue too ?"

Jojora smirked. "I'm not going to show you just yet."

She received baffled stares. Bootler broke the ice. "You really are smart and sly, despite your rudeness."

She smiled. "Why thank you. I knew you would understand my reasons."

Pauline was unnerved. "Wait, what is it all about ? We followed your plan, so give us the clue right there right now ! I even convinced Flurrie myself that Bootler was suspicious ! Do you want us to break off our alliance ?"

"Actually, I'm doing that for the good of this alliance you are talking about. I'm making sure that none of you will break the conditions of our pact once you are given the clue, and that is why I can't give it to you just now."

Before anyone could ask anymore questions, Bootler answered them. "Basically, Jojora does not give us the content of the clue because she is afraid we will give information to Flurrie afterward. I assume she will give it to us right before the third execution..."

"Yep, that's about it. I especially suspect you, Toad. I think you are more likely to jump ships than the other three. So yeah, I won't say it to anyone, and if I happen to hear that you talked to Flurrie or the two other girls during that episode – about the game of course - I won't tell you what's inside this envelope. I'm sure it would hurt your game if you were to break the promise you made yesterday."

Toad yelled. "That's blackmail ! You can't do that !"

"Or can I ? Anyway, I'm done here. You can do whatever you want to do." With that, she left them, a smug smile gracing her features.

**Toad** : I'm so mad right now ! I can't believe she deems me as not trustworthy enough ! That really kills me ! Why didn't I look for the clue all by myself ? And why did I agree with this stupid plan actually ? After this one, I'm done with coalitions. Well, I'm done making business with bad guys, that's what I meant.

...

All alone in her bedroom, Flurrie was reviewing her latest journal entry when suddenly, Noki and Birdo barged into her room.

"Flurrie, we have- Well, it would be more exact to say that you are the one who has a big problem," panted Noki, gasping for breath. Birdo nodded, still having trouble breathing.

"Actually, as I was going to the restroom, I overhead an interesting discussion between our five 'friends'... And-" She was cut off abruptly by Noki.

"They want to get rid of you !" blurted out the shell-shaped inhabitant of Delfino Island. "The five of them, and I mean by that Jojora, Mario, Pauline and even Bootler and Toad !"

Flurrie put her hand to her mouth. "Well, well, well, isn't that interesting...? I should have known it... Am I really a nuisance to you guys ? Because it seems that everyone wants me to quit this game..."

"Are you kidding me ?" shouted Birdo. "If anything, you shouldn't go ! My guess is that Jojora's so bitter after Donkey was eliminated that she wants you to go. But Noki and I don't want it to happen."

Flurri sighed loudly. "Listen, this game isn't as amusing as I thought it would be. I had a good reason to fill the form to participate, but with Jojora it's getting harder and harder to concentrate and almost everyone is lying to me, so I can't rely on anyone... Of course, I won't give up." She then whispered to herself. "At least, not yet."

"So, what can we do ? This show doesn't look like the Mole anymore with Jojora trying to rule it all by herself !"

"I actually wonder what her motives are... We have to discover who the Mole is, we shouldn't try to get rid of each other !" remarked Noki, visibly upset.

Birdo pondered. "Maybe... Maybe we ought to act as if we never knew a thing ? That way they will think that everything is going according to their plan ?"

"That won't be enough," stated Flurrie. "Just doing as if we didn't know anything won't change a thing. That could make things worse."

"I know what we could do !" exclaimed a shining Noki. "Listen, information is the key, right ? So here's what we are going to do..."

* * *

**Well, sorry for the long wait and the short chapter, but I absolutely wanted to insert this challenge in my story. You know, tradition and all that stuff, lol ! ^^' *shot hung tazed***

**I think this episode will be the shortest by far. I don't know why, but I don't have many ideas for challenges where you have 8 players. It's not like you can do a 4 VS 4 after all. ^^""" There are, like, too many players and not enough at the same time, an in-between number I guess...**

**Feel free to criticize and to leave a review, I would greatly appreciate it (as well as giving me tips as to how to write in a better way. XD). ^^**

**See you soon, hopefully ! ^^**


	10. Further Division

**Met Guard** : Thanks for you tip about the adverbs ! Nice prediction by the way, and thank you. I like the way I depicted the characters too, except for Flurrie... I had no idea she had such an extravagant way of expressing herself before I looked for some references, so I feel like I didn't honour her. XD I'm glad you like Pauline and Bootler too. ^^

Thank you for your nice comment, and I really like your hypotheses ! ^^ They actually reminded me that I forgot to mention that I actually chose to hide clues throughout the story. Obscure clues, but hey, clues anyway. And don't worry, your review didn't look nit picky at all. I'd rather have an harsh but frank critic than a sweet but hypocritical one anyway. ^^

And we'll see if it's a female who goes home next time. XD

**Ice Empoleon** (1) : Too much drama ? Yeah, I think like you sometimes, I guess I went overboard. The thing is that I can't stop abruptly. Maybe I can weaken it though. I'll try to do that. ^^

About Jojora, you are right. Actually, for me she is a whiny brat who is somewhat harsh and forceful. But since she isn't a kid in this story, I kind of dropped the whiny/childlike personality. But you know, I was influenced by one of her line in the game which was something along the lines of : "You smelly plumbers just don't lnow when to give up?". As for Donkey, I don't know. I think he was in character, because well, he seems aggravated over the least significant detail. Like, someone steals his bananas and he beats them senseless.

For the question and exclamative marks, I changed it in this chapter. Actually, for us, the rules are to let a space before and after these punctuation signs : ":", "?", ";" and "!". Sorry for the inconvenience, I'll try to remember it for the next chapters. ^^

Well, for the question, I think you are right, but just for the infantile deaths. Because if you talk about suicide, the utterance applies. But now that I think about it, "Exams" could have also been an answer.

For the matter of the sexist Toad & Pauline, I didn't intend to make them look that way. When Pauline said that females were generally weaker than males, I thought it was true (morphogically speaking, of course), so she was just stating a fact. As for Toad, well, it was for the humor lol. When he said girls were too talkative while he was hogging everyone's screetime, it was a paradox. Additionally he was praising females in this big confessionals (yeah, he said that they would be smarter than him and outlast him, should they tie with him on an execution). I really didn't mean to offend anyone by that. Next time I'll be more careful about my wording. ^^'

Anyway, thanks for the comment + nice suspicions.

**Ice Empoleon** (2) : We'll see if you are right in the next chapter about Jojora or Flurrie leaving. ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, Jojora gathered Mario, Bootler, Pauline and Toad, and told them about her master plan. She wanted Flurrie to be executed as soon as possible, and that meant that she had to find the perfect innocent scapegoat to put all the blame on. She found it in the person of Bootler. Later during the day, during lunchtime, Monty Mole came up to the players and explained them that they would soon be competing in a Clue Hunt, mission which was used in the two previous seasons. Once again, Jojora ordered her little coalition around, and put herself in the best position she had ever been in during the entire game : she was controlling almost everything, thanks to her blackmail. Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for the three outsiders who are Noki, Flurrie and Birdo, the first one had overheard them talking about Flurrie's eviction, leading them to foment a plan on their own. Will this divided group be able to win the next challenge ?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

10 : Further Division

It was ten in the morning. Bootler was already long awoken and was currently studying a rather interesting and puzzling note he found on the floor of his and Flurrie's bedroom. He arched an eyebrow, confused, and scanned the room to find if there was a clue which could tell him who sent this mysterious paper. However, there was nothing of the sort. Shrugging to himself, Bootler opened the door of his room carefully and slid out.

**Bootler** : Well, I have to say that I am mostly confused as to what this note could mean. The words 'I Know' were written on it in such a strange fashion that I have no idea as to who the sender of this slip of paper is. Trust me, I would really like to know it...

Bootler floated down the stairs without making any noise and carefully watched his surroundings. Jojora had told him and the three other members of her alliance to meet her near Gate Two, as there were used to. Upon arriving at the meeting point, he noticed that the four players were in a heated discussion.

"If I tell you that I have no idea, then I don't have any idea ! Is it too hard for you to understand?" asked Toad sarcastically.

"Come on, don't think I'm a fool. You're the only one here who wasn't particularly happy about our little 'arrangement' so it must be you who are responsible for slipping these notes under our rooms' doors. My guess is that you are trying to confuse us," explained Jojora.

"You know what? I'm tired of your bossiness! I've down nothing wrong as far as I know, but you still refuse to share the clue you found. Even if I was the most innocent being in the entire Earth, I'm sure you would find something to use against me just so I wouldn't get the clue! Well, that was nicely played, huh? I'm done with your coalition," Toad spat angrily, before leaving the place.

**Toad** : So okay, maybe it wasn't the best move I've ever made in the whole game, but you have to understand that I have nothing against Flurrie, that I've always found that it was unfair to her and that Jojora isn't the nicest person I've met. If I had to sum up what I want to tell her in two words, that would be : "SCREW YOU!". Thanks I needed that out. Ugh... And that just reminds me that I think she could be the Mole...

"Just remember that if you say one thing to Flurrie you become the next one out! Just saying," called out Jojora, wearing a smug smile on her lips.

Mario frowned. "You were too harsh. I expect you to apologize to him later." Pauline rolled her eyes.

"As if she would do that... If it weren't for the fact that you have the clue, I'd have already left this alliance a while ago. Just saying," she added, smiling.

Jojora shrugged. "We don't need him anyway, we have one strong man, one cultured man, one smart girl and...you in the team." Pauline was fuming.

**Pauline** : If I had had a purse, I would have smacked her face with it! Oh, but don't get me wrong, I'm usually sweet and peaceful. Just not with bratty little morons like her.

**Mario** : At first I thought Jojora was just moody, but now I'm not sure. What I know, however, is that I don't like her attitude. Unfortunately she has the clue, so I have to follow her, wherever that might lead me. I really think that once we're done with episode, it will be every man and woman for themselves.

Then, Bootler came from behind a big rock which was hiding him until now, and made his way toward the three remaining players. "Good morning everyone. I noticed that a piece of paper had been smuggled into my room when I woke up. Did you receive the same thing?"

**Bootler** : I was not going to enter their mind games. In the end, it is the most clever, observant and focused player who will win the game. I plan to win it so I wish to avoid confrontations at all cost.

Pauline was going to answer him, but Mario was faster. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing. Oh, and before you ask, Toad left the alliance. Hopefully that won't prevent us from eliminating Flurrie."

"I see..." Nobody said anything for a moment, so he carried on. "Well then, what shall we do today?"

"I'm glad that you asked. We'll do as planned. We'll give you the role which will make you seem suspicious. Plus you could win an exemption that way, so you should be happy with it, right?" offered Jojora.

"Yeah," nodded Mario. "Flurrie really thinks that you are the Mole after all. So you are our best choice. But don't do anything too drastic or else we might want to vote for you too."

**Mario** : I agreed to be part of Jojora's plan, because being in the majority is the best thing which can happen to me since I have no idea as to the Mole's identity. If we all agree to vote for someone, and if we happen to choose the wrong person, I'll be able to outlast one person because I will be faster than them. Oh, and then I will know that the person for whom I voted isn't the Mole, so I'll be able to form a coalition with them. That is, assuming nothing goes wrong.

…

After leaving Mario, Pauline and Jojora, Toad had walked into the center of Pipetown, which was full of activity, as usual. He wanted to breath fresh air and to be as far as possible from Jojora. Unbeknown to him, someone was following him from a little distance away. When he suddenly stopped in his tracks, this person joined him.

"Hi Toad!" chirped a voice he recognized. "Do you mind if I accompany you? I'm pretty bored this morning and a little lonely, since Birdo and Flurrie didn't want to go out of their rooms," Noki smiled.

Taken aback by her positive attitude, Toad only nodded. Noki continued, as they were walking toward the marketplace. "Wow... I can't believe it has only been a few day since we first began to play the game! It's more and more intense as it goes. Don't you think so ?"

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'd like it more if it was less stressful though. Unfortunately, it will only be worse from now on..."

Noki nodded. "Yes, but you still have to enjoy it to the maximum, because we are part of the ten lucky players who made it into the game!"

Toad considered this as he sat down on a public bench, with Noki following suit. "You know, at first I thought about it, I was truly ecstatic about entering one of my favorite show. It's after that I totally forgot how lucky I was. And now that you say it, I think I may have lost sight of my main objective..."

"What was it ?" inquired Noki, still smiling.

"To have fun," responded the mushroom, now smiling too. "Thanks Noki for making me feel better. From now on, if you need anything, just ask. I'd be happy to oblige."

**Noki** : My primary objective wasn't to befriend him, but I couldn't help it. He looked so distraught that I thought it was only natural to try and help him with his problems, whatever they were. And I'm glad I did.

**Toad** : I'm glad we have people like Noki in this show... That's why girls are better than boys, they are always here to comfort you when you need it. That aside I still suspect her.

…

Birdo and Flurrie were in room fourteen, discussing about their life in general while trying to look presentable enough. Both of them were looking at their own mirror – Flurrie had taken the one which was on her room – and applying make-up.

"Hey Flurrie, what was your goal when you chose to compete into this game?" asked the pink dinosaur, fixing her bow.

"Well, coming into this game, I wanted to experience new things. I like going on adventures when I'm not starring in a film. Since nobody asked me to play a character in their film, I guessed I could give this adventure a try. Did that answer your question?"

"Partly. What are you going to do with the money? Assuming that you win the game, of course," added Birdo hastily.

Flurrie stopped applying mascara to her long eyelashes. "Oh, so that's what you meant? Well, to be honest, I entered the game for that money. I may be an actress, but I don't have a regular income and there are people that I would like to help, but I don't have enough money for this. Do you know what a Puni is ?"

"Uh... No. What's that ?"

"Well, the Punies are adorable little beings I'm fond of. They live in the Great Tree of Boggly Woods. But recently, a humongous storm uprooted their tree, so they are now homeless. I let them into my house, but they can't live here forever. Not to mention there isn't enough space. I wish to win the money so I could have their home repaired. Or maybe making a new one who be more conceivable," supposed Flurrie.

**Birdo** : I had no idea Flurrie was here to win money for those Punies. Now that makes me look so selfish...

**Flurrie** : I really didn't want to tell Birdo, because I didn't want the others to think I was some sort of saint or something like that. Above all, I wanted to play a fair game.

…

The players had already eaten when Monty Mole came to ask them to follow him. They all went out of the hotel and walked toward the place where the gates were standing. This time, however, they entered Gate seven. Before entering another warp pipe, the host asked them a question.

"Okay, so once again, I will need you to choose your groups. I need one good driver, two persons who like to cause havoc, and five others who know how to work as a team. You have two minutes," he stated.

"Well, I personally think I should try to be a person who likes to cause havoc. Most of the time, when we are asked to choose our roles, they use some sort of reverse psychology assumption," declared Bootler.

"Well, why wouldn't you choose who comes with you?" suggested Mario.

Bootler nodded energetically. "How about you Toad?" Toad shrugged, but accepted nonetheless.

"Then we need to find a driver," reminded them the hero in red. "So... Who wants to do it?"

"Why wouldn't you take this role? I mean, it's not like it matters, right?" questioned Pauline.

Mario looked at her. "I'd rather be a team player. Flurrie, do you want to be our driver?"

"Sure, I see no harm in this," answered the collected voice of Flurrie.

"Cool! Then it's settled!" gladdened Mario. "Pauline, Jojora, Birdo, Noki and me as the teamwork group, Flurrie as the driver and Toad and Bootler as the havoc causers," he summed up.

Monty Mole nodded to them and gave them further instructions. "This time, you will have to wear costumes. Well, that's not news to you, so I won't tell you where they are since you already know it."

"Just great," whined Jojora. Monty Mole ignored her.

"Anyway... I'll meet you there. Be quick please." Monty Mole made his way to the warp pipe on which the number one was craved and disappeared from the players sight. Pauline was the first to follow him.

"C'mon guys, we don't have all day..." Most of them groaned, fearing the things they would have to wear.

**Noki** : The clothes they let at our disposal weren't that ugly, but pretty...how do I put it...unusual. Oh well, we were going to Pagoda Peak after all, so I guess it's good to wear what the trainees always wear. You know, that we we're totally immersed in their world. Even if doubt that they have Moles over there.

**Mario** : Actually, I'm glad they gave us good clothes for once. Yeah, I still remember the stupid clogs from mission three, as should the others.

…

When they emerged from the warp pipe, their eyes met a beautiful town, situated high above the clouds. Only a few of them were not surprised by that fact. Although pretty old, the houses were surprisingly pretty and had a picturesque charm about them. Above them was a mountain of granite standing high. And beyond this mountain was a floating island only linked to the peak by a ladder, island on which was situated an ancient temple.

Mario was the first one to wake up from his reverie. "Well, nothing has changed. It's more beautiful than ever."

Monty Mole was waiting for them near a cloud. He hopped on it and invited the players to do the same. They did, and the cloud slowly ascended toward the temple of Pagoda Peak.

**Birdo** : It was awesome. The only time I've been here, I didn't ride on a cloud like that. The Mole is...a fantastic game.

After a ten minute ride, they finally reached the very top of the mountain. They hopped off the cloud and began to walk toward the temple when Monty Mole interrupted them. "You can all go in except for Bootler and Toad with whom I need to speak for the first part of the challenge."

Toad and Bootler stayed while the others muttered good lucks and went inside the temple.

"Actually, I lied to them," Monty Mole revealed immediately. "There is no part to this challenge. You two will have a chance at winning an exemption at the price of twenty thousand coins."

"One of us or the two of us?" asked Toad.

"Well, it would be unfair to give an exemption to one of you and not to the other, so you will both win one if you can beat the others." Toad and Bootler looked at each other for a brief second. "Anyway, the goal of this mission is for the conductor to arrive at the bottom of the peak before the two of you. Additionally, the car Flurrie will ride in must be in perfect shape when it arrives. If it is dirty, the other five will have to wash it. However, if it is scratched, it's an automatic game over for the team and a victory for you."

"The concept is not that hard to understand," admitted Bootler, "but how are we supposed to reach the bottom of the peak before a person who drives a car? This is insane."

"You will only have to descend a small part of the mountain, obviously. Do you see this area near the town?" he besought, pointing to a circle-shaped place at the town's entrance. "That's the finish line."

Toad hesitated. "I'm not sure about that. I think Flurrie would beat us anyway." Monty Mole chuckled.

"Don't worry, for you will be able to depart before the other group." Bootler raised an objection.

"What is the point of letting us a small advantage? A car is faster than us. Also, what will do the group of five ?"

"Flurrie cannot leave the car," started Monty Mole, "so when she will have to face some troubles, Mario, Noki, Jojora, Birdo and Pauline will have to help her pass the obstacles. As for those obstacles, well, you will have set them up on your opponents' path. There are five electronic barriers that can be programmed thanks to a device next to them. All you have to do is to enter a code and to valid it, that's pretty easy, right? Well, the thing is that entering a code would only make the mission even more impossible to win, for the others at least. So before entering the code, you will have to write some sort of code so that the others will be able to deciphered it once they have reached the barrier. For the rest of the route, you will have to rely on your imagination to hinder their progress. You can use anything you find on the borders of the road, but you cannot steal things from stands or bystanders. Did you understand?" finally inquired Monty Mole. Bootler and Toad nodded, trying to remember everything the host had said. "You will have a ten minute head start and maybe more if the others are slow to understand this mission's explanations. On your mark...get set...GO!" shouted the host, giving them the opportunity to start.

**Toad** : I really thought this mission would be extremely hard, at least for Bootler and I. Since I don't know what the clue is because a certain person doesn't want me to have this information, I need the exemption.

…

Toad and Bootler quickly went down the ladder that linked the floating island to the mountain and began to run down the path. They noticed the shape of the car and remarked that it was not particularly small, so they could take advantage of that by spreading obstacles on the soil in a disordered manner.

"Hey Bootler, I see boxes of wood! Should we use them?" questioned the mushroom, running down the peak. Bootler shook his head.

"I think it is best if we make it to the first barrier first. That way, we will be sure to slow them down with a brain teaser. Then we could always use your suggestion, but I really think it is vital for us to reach the first barrier before Flurrie has a chance to pass us."

"If you say so," shrugged Toad. In a matter of minutes, the two of them reached the first barrier. "What do we do now?"

"Let me handle this, Toad." Bootler quickly went to the board and thought about a hard code. "Well, I guess we have no choice. I will write down a code that will have them think for a while," he addressed to Toad.

Bootler took a pen which was lying on the device, and wrote down a series of numbers and letters.

12345678

1234567abcdefg

misanthropically

He then went to the computer and found that it was rather easy to use. He entered himself the code which he thought would hold up the other group for enough time. During that time, Toad stood where he was, doing nothing. Bootler woke him up. "Toad, would you be so kind as to move those boxes over here, please? I think you could do the physical work while I think of new puzzles."

Toad nodded and moved the boxes near the portal. He then looked around and found tomatoes that he used as traps, hidden behind the boxes. "Well, that way we'll be sure that they have to move all of the boxes instead of ramming through them."

Bootler had already gone down another ladder situated next to a practicable road, probably designed for tourism. Toad followed him and saw another thing he could use : bamboos. He used a machete which was lying nearby and cut plenty of bamboos, thinking it could be useful. He then scattered it on the ground. "Toad, what are you doing?" boomed Bootler's voice.

"I'm coming!" he responded, keeping the machete with him.

Bootler saw Toad going down the ladder he had used just a moment before and nodded to himself. He floated past a gong which intrigued him and looked up. Their ten minute advantage was over, the next group was now listening to Monty Mole's instructions. Toad was a few feet behind him. "Hey Bootler, no need to worry. Continue without me, I think there's something I could use here."

Bootler nodded and made his way to the end of the road where he saw another ladder. Instead of taking it, this time around, he chose to follow the path designed for the car and then turned pale. An informative sign was telling him that he had only covered one fifth of the marked path. As to Toad, he had found a barrel of paint. He poured a part of its contents on the road and took the rest with him.

"Bootler, I have some paint! Where should I put it?" he asked low enough so that the others would not hear him.

"Really, paint?" asked an astonished Bootler. "Well, I have a plan, make haste and meet me at the next barrier!"

Toad ignored the other things which were disposed on the sides of the road and quickly caught up with Bootler who was almost arrived to the second electronic barrier. "So, what's the plan?"

"Rest easy my friend, let me handle the code first." Bootler thought for a minute and wrote something puzzling, as he had done before. Toad was looking at him, rather interested.

a=z-t ; b=z-t+1 ; c=z-t+2 ; etc...

Alphabetic

He entered the rather simple code and turned to Toad. "Now Toad, could you please pour the paint on this keyboard?"

Toad shrugged and did it, much to Bootler's enthusiasm. "Well, we should get going," noted Toad.

…

Ten minutes had passed since Toad and Bootler started the challenge. Monty Mole and the six other players came out of the temple, the former turning to them in the process. "Well, it's time for you to listen to the rules of mission six also called "Feet Versus Wheels". Toad and Bootler were offered a chance at winning an exemption at the cost of twenty thousand coins."

Pauline gasped, putting on her best act. "So wait, they didn't start their own challenge ten minutes ago but were actually given an advantage?"

"That's pretty much it," confirmed Monty Mole happily. "Their goal is to reach this area, at the other side of the town before Flurrie and her car. Flurrie cannot get out of her car, and it must be in tip-top shape at the end of the challenge, which means that you will have to wash it if it is dirty. However, if there's one scratch, it's game over for you."

Flurrie raised an eyebrow. "I am a good driver, so why do you think the car will be damaged?"

"Well, you see, Toad and Bootler were told to hinder you by any mean possible. Along the path you will have to follow are many things they could use to make your travel harder. Also, you might want to take a look below. There are a grand total of five electronic barriers, settled by your two other friends. Needless to say that you will have to resolve problems they created if you wish to pass through. Logically, they should have let you clues as to how you should be able to deactivate those obstacles. Oh, and you can't throw this challenge by damaging the car yourself. Consequences could be..."

"Desastrophic?" tried a smiling Flurrie. Monty Mole nodded.

"Mario, Pauline, Noki, Jojora and Birdo... You can't ride in Flurrie's car. You don't have to reach the finish line with Flurrie to win. You can't steal anything but as long as the locals are okay, you can borrow them things and with that, I'll let you go."

…

Flurrie was the first one to rush down the ladder to her car. She started the ignition and began to drive for a very short distance, where she saw that a barrier was blocking her way. "Hey guys, there's already one of those barriers! Hurry up!"

"Easy for you to say," spat Jojora venomously from behind. "You've got the car, not us."

Mario was the first one to arrive near the gate. He looked around and found what he thought was a set of instructions. "And what does that mean exactly?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Give me that!" ordered Jojora as she snatched the paper from Mario's hand. Her answer came seconds later. "No idea."

"Thanks for your precious help," ironically thanked Mario. "I think we need you Noki, wherever you might be." Noki's answer came immediately.

"What is it Mario?" she asked innocently. "Trouble with an enigma, I guess?"

"Your guess is mostly correct," he chuckled lightly. Jojora was annoyed.

"Knock it off, lovebirds. Birdo! Pauline! Couldn't you be faster than that? I mean come on, we're losing time in vain!" Flurrie rolled her eyes.

"Well, sorry your Obnoxiousness," apologized Pauline. "High heels were never designed for running." Birdo shook her head.

"Do I look like I was the best of my class in physical education?"

"Focus people!" came Flurrie's voice from behind.

Noki and Mario – and somewhat Jojora – paid their full attention to the instructions Bootler had let to them. Noki suddenly let out an exclamation. "I think I've got it! Look at the second line, there are seven letters and seven values. I think we just have to transpose this word in numbers."

"Really? I thought they would create something harder, you know?" stated Flurrie. Noki looked at her.

"Well, I don't have anything else, and since nobody wants to help, I think it's worth a try."

Mario looked offended. "Well, I would like to help, but I'm not sure my guess is right... Maybe they simply put the word we're looking for as a password ?" Jojora looked at him for a moment.

"Are you a dimwit? There's no way they did something like that." Noki pondered on Jojora's last statement.

"He did get us good once with his reverse psychology assumption... I guess it won't kill us to give it a try, at the very least."

Mario entered the password thanks to the keyboard, but the barrier did not bulge. "Oh well, we tried."

"There's something better than trying, Mario. That is called succeeding. That's what I want to do right now."

Birdo rolled her eyes. "We could succeed if you weren't that bossy and nagging." Jojora scoffed.

"You're one to talk."

"Could you please all shut up for a moment? Except for you Noki," asked Mario rather politely.

Noki tried her combination, but it did not work, unfortunately. At first, she thought she had entered it wrongly, but after a minute or two she realized what was her mistake. "Oh my, they sure were clever with it. I can't believe I missed that."

Pauline walked toward her, interested in what she was going to say. "So you mean you finally found the combination?"

"Yes, and I'll need your heads. Do you see the letters in 'misanthropically'? Most of the time, for codes, we use 'a' as one, 'b' as two, and the list goes on. But this time, Toad and Bootler decided to start with 'a' as eight and 'b' as nine. So you will have to help me, that way we will finish faster."

They all began to work on this problem, and soon enough, they came up with the following code : 20-16-26-8-21-27-15-25-22-23-16-10-8-19-19-32. Mario pressed the enter key and the barrier rose. The players cheered but then Jojora noticed that Toad and Bootler were almost at the middle of the course. "We should hurry. Go Flurrie! Step on the gas!"

Flurrie did as she was instructed, and while she was speeding in the distance, the others went down the ladder. Birdo moaned. "I'm tired and I want to rest. Can't you do that without me? Please?"

Pauline walked past her and bumped her on the shoulder. "I share your pain."

Below the two of them, Flurrie suddenly pushed the brake hard. Before her eyes was fresh paint. "Mmmh, guys? I'm not sure we can win."

Once again, a panting Mario was the first one to join her. "I see... Well, let me...try to see if it's wet or not..." He trudged toward the paint and put his shoe on the colored surface. To his surprise, nothing stayed on it. "It's good Flurrie, you can-wait. Wait wait wait! What is this...?" he inquired, pointing at the car's hood. "It's red and gooey... Tomato? Flurrie, did you hit something on your way down?"

Flurrie put her hand to her chin. "Not that I know of. I mean, Jojora, Birdo and Pauline had already moved the boxes of wood which were standing on my way, so..."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Use your gloves to remove it for heaven's sake! Pauline! Birdo! Come on, we have to get in front of the vehicle to clear its way!"

"Is that even allowed?" wondered Pauline.

Birdo shrugged. "I don't know, but you better not pique her majesty." Pauline laughed.

"Well, let's go girls! And Mario," quickly added Noki, after Mario had washed Flurrie's car. "We have a challenge to win!"


	11. Corruption  Execution

**Koopa2pa** : Thanks for your review, I really appreciated it, that was so nice (maybe too much since I know this isn't a great story compared to Kris' and TheGreatAdvenger's ones *shot*). But still, I'm happy to see you're having fun reading it. ^^

Actually, there's nothing going on between Mario and Pauline, that's just simple flirt. XD

**TheGreatAdvenger** : Thank you for your review too ! ^^ Yeah, that reference was pretty awesome, but maybe it would have been even greater if an actual Princess was part of the cast. *shot for praising himself*

About Kooper, his job really is ambiguous... :/ To describe it, he helps Monty Mole whenever he needs assistance (like, if Monty Mole is required to be somewhere, but that he needs to be somewhere else at the same time, Kooper will be the one to help him. He is part of the Mole's production crew (the Mole as in the show, not the individual). ^^'

**Ice Empoleon** : *sees the review* *clicks on the button at the top left corner of the screen* *is shot* XD

Anyway, you're right about Donkey, we didn't see much of his soft side, but he was influenced by Jojora. You know, he was carried away by the group effect. Maybe he will have quieted down by the time we reach the reunion show. ^^

I don't think you reacted too strongly about the sexist thing, maybe we just don't react the same way, you know ? While it strikes you as something which is uncalled for, maybe I just don't really pay attention to it. ^^'

Oh okay, I actually thought that you didn't like them just because of what they had said. *shot for misunderstanding everyone*

I agree with your vision of the clue. Most of the time, I have the clues but I kind of don't know how to figure them out. ^^'

Okidoki for your tip about Monty's explanations of the challenges. One idea, one paragraph. It's pretty basic, but you don't always think about it. Thanks for reminding me. I'll do that for the next challenges. ^^

Yep, I also think Episode's 3 execution was coming up a bit early, but that's also the longest chapter I have ever written, so maybe that's some sort of compensation ? *shot* Actually, I couldn't really add another challenge, or else they could have gained almost the same sum of money than in the ultimate episode... Otherwise I would have gladly written another chapter. I also wanted to move on with the general plot. Don't worry though, the next one will have four chapters, I'm sure of it. Or maybe five, but that's still hypothetical.

When I was talking about your prediction, I was talking about the one in which you had said that you thought either Jojora or Flurrie would leave the game. ^^

Thank you very much for your review ! ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the players had received a mysterious note, presumably slipped under their room's door during the night, note which caused more drama than necessary, as it made Toad leave Jojora's alliance when she confronted him about it. After that, Monty Mole took the players to Pagoda Peak, place of their sixth challenge. In this challenge, Toad and Bootler had the opportunity to win an exemption, at the price of twenty thousand coins. They were allowed to begin the challenge ten minutes before the six others. Their goal? Reaching an area at the other side of Pagoa Town before Flurrie, who was in a car. However, Toad and Bootler could slow down Flurrie by preparing traps that Noki, Mario, Pauline, Birdo and Jojora had to inactivate. At the end of this episode, one more player will fall, getting the short end of the stick. Who will it be?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

11 : Corruption ; Execution

Bootler tore down the side of the mountain, fearing the others would make a comeback and ruin his chance at winning an exemption. Bootler was not selfish, he wanted security. Toad was a few pace behind him. He kicked the foundations of a rather unstable arch to make it collapse. To his delight, it was indeed put there by the production. It created a mess behind him that made him laugh.

"There's no way they'll be able to catch up with us, Bootler and I are playing our A game," commented Toad, somewhat cockily.

Toad then walked slowly toward Pagoda Peak's rock face and noticed there was a cave. He entered, scanning it despite the darkness, and found some rocks he decided to take with him. "They'll make good souvenirs, plus Toadette likes to collect rocks. Maybe she doesn't have this one yet."

He went out of the cave and followed Bootler's path. He reached a wooden bridge, looked around to see if there was something he could use to slow down Flurrie, but did not find anything. Shrugging he crossed the red bridge and saw Bootler who was almost arrived to a shop which was situated next to a sharp bend. Bootler saw Toad and gave him a nod, as if trying to tell him he would handle the electronic gate.

"Well, there's not much I can do here," noticed Toad, stating the obvious. "I hope the others won't catch up to us."

"Well," started Bootler, thinking hard about an enigma, "I do believe they will be able to catch up one way or another. Otherwise, we would not have had such an advantage over them. That's what I think." He then added another thing. "I would inspect the shop if I were you. There might be something you could use."

"Okay..." Toad knocked on the door, opened it and was greeted by a warming welcome coming from the shopkeeper.

"Hello dear!" she smiled. "What can I do for you?"

Toad bit his lips nervously. "Well, you see ma'am, I'm part of a game, and right now I need something that could hinder the other team's progress... The only thing is that I don't have money soo..."

"Oh, I see." The shopkeeper was disappointed. "Well, maybe I'll be able to help if you tell me what you need."

"I don't really know either," answered an embarrassed Toad, who rubbed the back of his chin. "Actually, do you have anything I could use against a car? The person I need to beat in a race has a car while we don't."

The shopkeeper eyed him suspiciously, but then noticed the cameraman who was outside. "Okay, I might have something but I'm not sure. Hold on a second..." She went into the back shop a few minutes and returned with a single box. "There, be careful with these, though."

"Awesome!" cheered Toad as she handed him the box full of clouts. "I'll be sure to come back here someday!"

He got out happily, and met again with Bootler. The refined Boo had found what to do with his next puzzle. He typed a few things before entering the validation key. Toad had a quick look at the instructions the butler had written.

8 – 6 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 7 – 6

1 + 8 + 7 + 3+ 5 + 8 + 3

Toad was puzzled as to its signification but let it go as he did not have to resolve this problem. Bootler led once again the way and glided down a slide, quickly followed by Toad. They had no time to waste for their places into the game were at stake. Bootler instructed Toad to set the clouts around the place, because this path was smaller than the rest of the road and Flurrie would most likely drive on them. Toad obliged and did it. He spotted a broom that he threw down the waterfall so that it would not advantage the other group.

"Toad, do you think you could puncture those oil barrels? I think it would slow down the others."

"Flurrie has a car, I doubt she would lose control of it, if that's what you were going at."

"That was not what I meant. It could slow down the others, not necessarily Flurrie. Remember that even though we have to beat her and only her, the others are the true threats since they are the only ones who can make her avoid the traps we set," explained Bootler.

Toad realized what Bootler meant. "Ah, I see! Okay, I'll do it!" Toad pierced the barrels and quickly ran to catch up with Bootler who was a little bit ahead of him. During his course, he spotted a pile of boxes, but thought it would not be useful enough to slow down the others. "That doesn't look good... The town is really big," he muttered to himself.

Bootler went down another ladder, which was situated near what looked like a dojo to him, but he did not pay too much attention to his surroundings and fell down from a few feet. "Ugh! My poor back..."

"Are you okay Bootler?" asked Toad, looking concerned. He went down the ladder and helped the old Boo to stand up. "Can you walk? Are you hurt?"

"No need to worry yourself Toad, I am perfectly fine Toad. Those are simply scratches, superficial wounds," he reassured. "Now let us hurry, we must win those exemptions!"

After that little incident, Toad and Bootler went as fast as they could toward the next gate. They knew that if the others were to pass them on the peak, they would not be able to win the precious passes to the next episode, so they had to hurry up.

"Another gate, another code... Do you have any idea as to what you will ask them to find?" questioned a curious Toad.

Bootler sighed. "I am ashamed to say that I cannot create enigmas out of the blue. And I cannot use problems I have already used during this challenge. Otherwise they would be useless. If I concentrate enough, maybe I will find something, but it is hypothetical..."

"I might have an idea, actually. Here, let me try..."

To pass this obstacle

Realize its meaning

Under the time limit,

To pass this obstacle

Highlight the truth.

Toad quickly entered the password, and then, he and Bootler rushed toward the town which was situated a little three hundred feet from their current position. Bootler congratulated Toad for his good teaser. "Well, it was really well-thought, I must say. You amazed me, Toad."

Toad blushed. "Please, it's nothing compared to what you have done. You came up with all the plans so I should be the only one congratulating you on what you've done so far." Bootler chuckled.

"Oh wait, some bamboos! I think I can use them to our advantage," Toad stated before using his machete to cut them and let them on the road. "Hopefully, that will stop them." He then followed Bootler.

The two of them were now entering the town...

…

Birdo, Pauline and Jojora were kicking at the bamboo sticks which were sprinkled over Flurrie's path. Soon, Pauline began to grow weary. "Girls, we are wasting time here. I'm sure Flurrie can drive over those. I mean, it's not like she was reckless or anything, and they obviously can't scratch the car, it's common sense, really!"

Birdo's face lighted up as she stopped to. "Oh yeah, I totally agree with you! Jojora's trying to make us lose time!" Jojora glared at her.

"Oh no, you did not say that!" she pronounced clearly, putting emphasis on the negation. Mario arched an eyebrow and looked at Flurrie.

"Well, what do you think we ought to do? Do you want to give it a try and to drive as if nothing was here? You're the driver, so that's your call."

Flurrie looked unsure. "Well, they say bamboo is pretty resistant... But I guess it can't hurt us to give it a try." Flurrie carefully and slowly drove over the bamboos and stopped after a little time. "Is the car damaged?" she asked fearfully. Jojora smacked her own forehead.

"Are you really stupid or what? I mean, the game is over the instant a scratch makes its way on your car, so asking us won't change a thing! Just drive already!"

Birdo wept over her fate. "Aww man! I should have been the driver... I can't feel my legs..." Mario gently pushed her.

"We have to keep going though. You'll feel worse if you stay here doing nothing. Trust me, I know it."

"And that isn't good for the body," added Jojora. Birdo looked shocked while Pauline rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, let's keep going. And Birdo, I wouldn't trust her if I were you."

While the three girls were arguing about pointless issues, Noki, Mario and Flurrie were already far ahead, trying to reach the bottom of the peak as fast as possible.

"Not to be rude or to speak ill of them, but so far they didn't do much to hinder our progress," noticed Flurrie, still driving her car. Mario and Noki nodded but did not respond because they knew that running and talking at the same time would exhaust them. A few seconds later they reached the second gate and faced the second enigma. It was covered in dry paint. At first Noki was disappointed, but then Mario tried to scrape it off and it worked, much to their delight.

"This one shouldn't be too hard, right? Since we know how they made the first one," tried to reassure himself Mario. Noki shook her head.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Do you see the code? It clearly differs from the other. I think we need to work together if we want to solve it quickly."

"Why wouldn't we try to simply enter the word they ask us to enter? I mean, it would be faster," suggested Mario. Noki shrugged.

"We already try that for the other one and it didn't work. Not to mention that it would defeats the purpose of having gates to slow us down. I doubt they chose obvious answers as passwords, you know?"

"You have a point here," conceded Mario. "So what should we do?"

"First of all, where are Birdo, Jojora and Pauline?" asked a baffled Noki. "We're the teamwork team, we must work as a team!"

"I honestly think we should leave them here. They don't help us anyway," responded Mario loud enough so that the three late females would hear him. Immediately, the trio heard footsteps behind him.

Noki crossed her arms impatiently. "So, as I was saying before, we need to cooperate. If the value of 'a' is 'z' minus 't', then 'a''s value is six. And that means that 'b''s value is seven, that's 'c'' is eight and the list goes on. Basically it's the same code as before except we start with six instead of eight this time."

Almost two minutes later, they had an answer. Mario typed the answer; it was : 6-18-22-13-6-7-10-26-14-8. He pushed the enter key, but to their surprise, the gate did not bulge.

"Wait, what happened exactly?" inquired Pauline. "It should work, right?"

A little unnerved, Mario tried something else and typed the word they thought they needed to translate into numbers, 'Alphabetic', into the little computer. To his and everyone's surprise, the gate rose.

The other five were looking at Mario, their mouth agape. "What? I just knew there was something odd about this code. I mean, they were in a rush, so you can't expect them to think deeply about it. Let's suppose you were in their position for an instant. You wouldn't want to lose too much time thinking about one single enigma, would you?"

"His reasoning makes sense," noted Flurrie. "Anyway, let's go now, we won't catch up to them if we stay here doing nothing." The little group nodded, with the exception of Jojora who only grunted.

Flurrie stepped on the gas but hit the brake shortly afterward. "Guys, I need help."

Birdo's eyes widened. "Don't make it be physical stuff, please..." Noki patted her on the back.

"I'm sorry but it is. Don't worry though, I can still help you!" she cheered. Birdo collapsed dramatically.

"She would make a great actress," remarked Flurrie, chuckling.

Jojora tapped her foot on the soil. Mario and she were doing most of the work. Noki was not strong enough to be of much assistance, and Pauline and Birdo were not trying as hard as them. "I'd like to finish this challenge before sunset. Just saying."

Mario kept on pushing the remaining of the arch Toad had broken earlier until a path was cleared for Flurrie. "Well, I'll be going now. Please hurry guys, I think they set even more traps over there."

"No kidding. They want their exemptions after all," reminded them Jojora.

The little group moved a little faster than before, motivated by Jojora's statement. Flurrie reached the third barrier and the other ones soon followed suit. Mario and Noki immediately started thinking about the problem.

"It seems rather simple. One addition and one subtraction, I think the two of us can handle this, Mario," stated Noki.

A few second after that, the results came: minus twenty for the first line and thirty five for the second one. Mario entered the code, but nothing happened. Noki and him quickly came up with another answer by adding the two values and entered fifteen. Once again, the gate did not bulge. Jojora was growing very frustrated by the minute.

"Let me handle this!" she yelled, pushing Mario and Noki out of her way. "Let's see... Eight, six, two, three, four, seven, six, enter!"

Everyone was surprised when they saw that the gate was rising. "And that's how you do it," bragged Jojora. Pauline and Birdo rolled their eyes but said nothing.

The little group was making good progress. They were already near the waterfall. Once there, Flurrie stopped, letting the others wonder why she had done so. Their questions were quickly answered when they saw the dirty paved road, on which were scattered clouts. Birdo backed down immediately.

"There's no way I'm going to help you guys. That's too dangerous for my tastes, ask someone else."

Mario sighed and scanned the horizon. Hidden behind the temple was a blue bucket which he took and filled with water. He then walked back to where the clouts were and threw the bucketful on them, clearing the way rather easily. Pauline squealed while Jojora frowned. As to Flurrie, she voiced her apprehensions.

"Keep it up Mario, I think there's oil below..."

"Thank goodness the path is going down. Mario will only have to threw bucketfuls from here and then it will wash out the oil."

Mario, however, did not do as Noki had predicted. He preferred to throw the bucketful directly on the oil. "I doubt it would have worked your way, Noki."

"Why?" she questioned as Flurrie, and Jojora sped up ahead with Pauline and Birdo jogging at a moderate pace behind them.

"Because the water would have spread out, you know, without really washing the oil. At the most it would have washed a tiny part of it." Noki shrugged.

"If you say so, you must be right. You are the expert after all," she smiled.

They quickly met up with the other four and began to work on the puzzle. "Wow, that's really a good enigma for something that was imagined in a few seconds," noted an astonished Noki. Birdo was intrigued by Noki's remark, so she decided to take a closer look at the riddle.

"You're right, it's really a good acronym!" she exclaimed. Everyone looked at her, flabbergasted. "What? I have something on my face or what?"

Pauline waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, just enter the word formed by the acronym so we can move on."

Birdo pushed the keys until the word 'Truth' appeared, and she confirmed her choice. The electrical gate opened once again. Flurrie pushed the gas pedal and drove over the bamboo sticks without giving them much attention. The others followed suit, happy to see that their challenge would finally be over, and anxious about its outcome.

…

Toad and Bootler marveled at the sight of the lively town, even though they had seen it only thirty minutes or so ago. They regained their senses and realized the final part of the challenge would be near impossible to win. They could not set up traps in the town, otherwise they would be arrested. And assuming they were not arrested by the police, the inhabitants would foil their plans. On the other hand, Flurrie would have to wait because of the traffic lights, but still... The town was big and she could easily catch up to them.

They passed a gong and saw the last barrier. Toad had an idea. "Should we ask them to translate a word in another language? I mean, not everyone knows how to speak different languages, so they should be stuck for a while."

"Mmmh... That is indeed a good idea, however I cannot help you on this one as I do not know a thing about other languages."

"Well, I only know a few words of several languages, so... Do you think it's worth trying?" besought the mushroom.

"We do not have anything else, so please, by all means, do as you wish."

Toad nodded and wrote the instructions the others would need to open the gate on a piece of paper.

'I don't know' in Dutch.

Toad entered the code and he and his partner quickly ran toward the finish line, crossing roads dangerously. A few minutes after them came Flurrie who needed to wait for the others to solve this last enigma.

Mario and Jojora were the first ones to reach her, but they did not know anything about Dutch. Mario knew Italian fairly well, but that was about it. "I think we lost," he declared.

"Yeah, only a miracle would save us now," agreed Jojora. Flurrie laughed quietly.

"I don't think so." Jojora and Mario turned toward her, puzzled looks on their faces. As they started to open their mouth to ask her what she meant, a panting Noki arrived. "Birdo and Pauline gave up, I think. Oh, another enigma! Let's see..."

As Noki read the clue, her face lighted up. "Wow, really?" she laughed. She went to the computer and entered 'Ik weet het niet'. The gate rose up and Flurrie sped toward victory.

Noki stayed where she was. "Well, I'm sorry but I'm a bit tired, and I doubt I will be of much use to you, so maybe you should accompany Flurrie to the finish line, just in case there are more obstacles on her way."

Mario and Jojora nodded to her and ran to catch up with Flurrie. Soon, Birdo and Pauline arrived, looking more tired than ever. "Don't tell me we still have to run?" whined Pauline. Noki only smiled.

…

Toad and Bootler were nearing the area they needed to reach before Flurrie. They made a halt and asked a shopkeeper if they could take some tomatoes for free. After a heated discussion, the shopkeeper let them take three tomatoes. They thanked him and began to run another time toward the finish line. As they were in the home stretch, they stopped suddenly.

"Bootler, am I hallucinating? Don't tell me it's Flurrie over here, and please don't tell me Mario and Jojora are running toward the finish line?"

"I am afraid everything you just said is right..."

Toad took a deep breath. "Well then only one last thing to try... DUCK EVERYONE!" he shouted. Scared by the sudden yell, the inhabitants ducked. Flurrie however turned her head, her eyes widening when she saw Toad throwing tomatoes at her.

"That was the last one," announced Toad to Bootler after his fourth throw. "We need to run, now!"

Toad and Bootler ran toward the finish line, some pedestrians on their tails thinking they were fugitives or delinquents. Flurrie, as if waking up of her trance, suddenly stepped on the gas and went through the red light, slaloming skillfully between the cars which were already on the road, and earning herself nice honking noises.

Toad's and Bootler's faces were speaking for themselves. They were horribly disappointed especially after going this far into the challenge and failing at a mere few feet from the finish line. Nevertheless, they kept on running, even though they knew Jojora and Mario would clean up the car before their arrival.

Soon enough, the challenge was over.

…

Monty Mole, Flurrie, Jojora, Mario, Bootler and Toad were now waiting for Noki, Pauline and Birdo to appear. The three females crossed the finish line and were given a round of applause. They began to blow kisses at their nonexistent supporters, which made everyone laugh.

"Well, what did you think of this challenge?' asked them Monty Mole.

Pauline was the first to answer to his question. "Very very exhausting. Maybe I'll stop to put on high heels before a challenge." Monty Mole chuckled lightly.

"As you already know, Bootler and Toad here were offered an exemption if they succeeded to reach the finish line before Flurrie's car. But this car had to be in tip-top condition for the group to win the money. Before I start to announce the results of your mission, I'm pleased to tell you that nobody broke any rule!"

"That must be a first," commented Birdo, jokingly.

"So, who won the challenge? Let me tell you right now..."

"Get on with it," commanded Jojora. "We all know who won."

"Or do you?" asked the host, slyly. "Anyway, the winners of this race are non other than Toad and Bootler."

Everyone was astonished. Mario chose to speak up for everyone. "Flurrie crossed the finish line and we cleaned up the car before Bootler and Toad crossed it too, so how could we have lost?"

Monty Mole nodded and waddled toward the car. "May I direct your attention to this spot, over here?" he inquired, pointing at the side of the car. "Do you see it now? This is a scratch. Thus, you lost the challenge."

"But I never- Oh wait, was it you Toad?" asked Flurrie. Toad grinned sheepishly.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 0

Team Pot : 59 000 coins

"Well, we'll have our third execution tonight, on the isle on which you started today's challenge. Meet me there on due time! Until then you can do whatever you wish to do. See you later!"

As Monty Mole walked away, the players gathered their thoughts on who they thought was suspicious during that challenge.

**Toad** : I know my impressions are a little biased, since I only was with Bootler during this whole challenge, but to me he was the most suspicious. I mean, it was him who told me to check the shop where I found clouts, it was him who told me where to set up traps and for the most part, it was him who chose the barriers' codes. Compared to his, mine were rather simple. I feel like he was really more prepared than ever.

**Bootler** : It is obvious that I am suspicious of Toad. Even though I am grateful that he won us the exemptions, I still think that he was fishy during this whole challenge. He was not doing much, and ultimately caused the other team to lose the challenge when he threw a rock at Flurrie's car. Talking about rocks, where did he find it exactly?

**Mario** : If there was someone I suspected during that challenge, it was Noki. I really think Flurrie is the most trustworthy right now, that's a shame she will be evicted today... What did Noki do? Well, first of all, she was the one who was trying to answer the problems we needed to solve. Two times in a row, she disregarded my ideas, which were correct by the way. If we had tried to do what I suggested, then we would have won, hands down. Oh yeah, and we were always waiting for her to solve the problems too.

**Flurrie** : Who did I find the most suspicious? Well, I would say Toad, because he was the reason we lost the game. But Birdo and Pauline didn't help at all, and Mario was once again too useful. I still remember what he did during the first two challenges. Trying hard but failing when he was close to getting the answer. Nice strategy for the Mole, right?

**Birdo** : My prime suspect for that challenge? Jojora, obviously. I mean, she was pointing fingers at Pauline and me because we were slacking off, but what was she doing? Nothing. Oh yeah, she was making us lose time by telling us to remove the bamboo sticks. And when she tried to solve the only puzzle she looked at, she did it in a matter of time. I'm close to base my answers to the quiz entirely on her.

**Noki** : I mostly suspect Jojora and Pauline, because they weren't helping at all. Jojora was being bossy and we all know she did that on purpose because it was part of her 'master plan' but that doesn't mean she isn't the Mole. She could be a blatant Mole. And Pauline didn't really help. As far as I remember, she hasn't helped us much during this whole game. Then again, that might be her personality but it would be a little convenient, wouldn't it?

**Jojora** : Birdo and Bootler. They are the two I suspect the most as of now. I just can't picture Toad coming up with all those various problems, so I think that Bootler is the one who created them. Bootler is respected by everyone, so he could be the Mole after all. Well, my plan kind of backfired anyway because I suspect Toad of having told the three girls about our plan. Oh well, I'll still have an advantage as long as I'm the only one who possess the clue to the Mole's identity. And I suspect Birdo, because she was always complaining about running, but as far as I know she has great stamina. Remember the Windmill mission?

**Pauline** : I actually don't know who to suspect, because it seems like we are in an alliance war. Hopefully I won't be the worst scorer today and Jojora will stay true to her words so that I can have more information. I think I'll read my journal carefully this afternoon. Very carefully...

…

Noki, Birdo and Flurrie went to a shop in order to buy souvenirs which would remind them of their experience. While searching for something good to buy, they were discussing about what they were going to do for their upcoming quiz.

"I'm sorry girls, but I didn't learn anything about their plan. When I was spying on them, all Jojora did was pointing fingers at Toad about the notes we had put under their door. After that, Toad got really angry and decided to leave their alliance, soooo... I decided to follow and comfort him," explained Noki.

Birdo sighed. "Don't worry about it, we would have probably done the same thing. I really hate the time just before the quizzes. You know, thinking it might be our time and everything."

Flurrie agreed. "Unfortunately, we're at a disadvantage here. I think one of us we'll be leaving tonight."

"Well no need to worry about this now, right? Let's just assume that Jojora will be going home tonight, okay?" suggested Noki.

"You're dreaming girl," joked Flurrie while admiring a figurine on a stand.

**Noki** : If one of us goes home tonight, I'll be extremely disappointed. Okay, I'm no sure whether they are the Mole or not, but I know for a fact that we're friend, and I would rather play a game with friendly Moles than unfriendly persons.

After that, the shop's bell rang, letting enter a figure they recognized. "Hello!" greeted the mysterious individual. "Oh, you're here too?"

"Hi Toad!" smiled Birdo. "And yes, as you can see, we're buying presents for our loved ones!"

"Errr... I think you're just buying yourself things but if you say so..." Noki and Flurrie laughed when they saw Birdo's face.

"So, what are you doing here?" questioned the pink dinosaur. "You want to buy souvenirs too?"

"Yep, for my girlfriend, Toadette. I want to buy her something cute, just like her," he responded. The three girls let out a dreamy sigh. "Or maybe a weapon will do the trick, since she's got a fierce temperament." Immediately, they frowned. Birdo even went as far as to put her hand on her forehead.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Toad asked.

"You probably won't understand anyway..."

Toad raised an eyebrow. "You're weird...in a good way." He then looked out of the window at nothing in particular. "Actually, I'm kind of glad that you're all here. Jojora's plan was to make Flurrie think that Bootler was the Mole. I don't know if he really is a genuine player or not though. That was a pretty bold and huge gamble on Jojora's part. I told you what I knew, so good luck with that. I have no way to determine if Bootler sabotaged because he wanted an exemption or because he was following Jojora's orders or even if he did it because he is the Mole. Once again, good luck."

With that, Toad took one last look at what the shop was selling, and exited it, leaving three puzzled yet glad females on the spot.

…

"You _what_...?" asked Pauline, angrily.

Pauline, Mario, Bootler and Jojora, the leader of the group, were sitting under the shadow of a tree, discussing something about the game. This something did not seem to please Mario, Bootler and Pauline one bit.

Mario grumbled. "Can we at least know why you have changed your mind?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt me to say it... With Toad out of the alliance, it's possible that he told everything we intended to do to Flurrie. If Flurrie knows that everything we did so far was an act, then it means that she is on the same level as us. If I were to give you the clue, then you could found out its meaning, and obviously, you wouldn't share your suspicions with me, and that would put me at a disadvantage, so I chose to keep this information to myself."

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "That is very low, even for you, Jojora. You do realize it will not do you any good in the long run, don't you?"

Jojora dismissed him by waving her hand in the air. "I can take care of myself just fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a questionnaire to prepare." And with that, she left them alone.

Mario waited a moment and talked. "Maybe we should make an alliance too?"

Pauline shook her head categorically. "I'm sorry Mario but we're through at every possible level." Bootler chuckled a bit but regained his composure when he saw Mario's glare.

"Never mind me, I will leave the two of you alone." Bootler floated in another direction.

"You didn't act that way before, Pauline, and I thought we were still friend..."

Pauline sighed. "Of course we're still friends, but I still didn't get over the fact that you replaced me so quickly by her. Especially after all those years we've been together. And I'm sorry, but in this game, I just can't trust you. I guess you can understand that, right?" And with that, she left the poor red plumber alone.

"Well, if they don't want to form coalitions, that's fine by me. I can try to regain Jojora's trust so she will give me what I want."

…

The eight players were now on their way to the place where they would take their third execution quizzes. Although the trip did not take them long, it seemed like forever. Nobody was talking, the players were lost in their thoughts. Monty Mole greeted them when the cloud landed on the floating island.

"Well, you will soon take your third quiz, so good luck guys! I wish you the best of luck!" exclaimed sincerely Monty Mole. "Please follow me inside, you will all take the quiz at the same time this time."

Monty Mole led them inside the temple where they saw and greeted Koopa Master, who was obviously the Master of the Koopa Technique, an ancient form of fighting transmitted from masters to masters throughout generations. Eight room were waiting for them. They all picked one randomly and began to work on their quizzes.

…

_Did the Mole try to look for the clue during the Clue Hunt Challenge?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_Did the Mole found the clue during the Clue Hunt Challenge?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Noki** : I decided to split my answers on three different people. If the Mole is one of them, then I'll most likely be guaranteed to make it to the next round. I'm not really worried about myself, to be honest. I'm more worried about Birdo since I don't know what kind of answer she is going to choose. Also, she's pretty impulsive sometimes and often change her mind. Hopefully, she will do good.

_How many coins did the Mole gain or lost for the team during the Clue Hunt Challenge?_

_-5 000_

_-0_

_-Minus 5 000_

**Jojora** : They always reminded us how Donkey was screwing up here and there, but nothing has ever been said against Birdo, and she does the same thing he did. Her sabotage is subtle, I'm not really sure whether the others have noticed it or not – not that I really care about their opinion to be honest – but she's always goofing up and everything. And of course nobody is blaming her, because, well, she's Birdo.

_During the Challenge Feet Versus Wheels, did the Mole had a chance at winning an exemption?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Flurrie** : I think Mario might be the Mole. I don't know why, but I have this feeling about him which tells me that he isn't completely honest with us. Let's face it : Mario is too knowledgeable about every thing. He recently toned down his game, but he still knows too much. I also suspect Bootler, but since Toad told us it was only an act, I'm not sure if I should vote for him.

_During the Challenge Feet Versus Wheels, what was the Mole's group?_

_-Teamwork Group_

_-Driver Group_

_-Havoc Group_

**Pauline** : Right now, Jojora makes me sick. Who does she think she is, using us like pawns? I hope she will get eliminated soon. Part of me thinks she could be the Mole, while another thinks she would maybe be too obvious. I guess I'll have to rely on my gut instinct on this one.

_During the Challenge Feet Versus Wheels, when did the Mole cross the finish line?_

_-First_

_-Second_

_-Third_

_-Fourth_

_-Fifth_

_-Sixth/Seventh/Eighth_

**Birdo** : This episode was crazy. First we have this huge conspiracy against Flurrie, then we have Jojora's blackmail and her domination of the game, after that we have a crumbling alliance, and finally one of her former allies spills out the beans. And despite that, I still think she controls the game. She's one of my prime suspects.

_What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Bootler** : Nobody really pays attention to Toad, but I am fairly convinced that he could be the Mole. He avoids every confrontation he can, and stays under the radar. Well, I also avoid as much confrontations as possible, but I am not the Mole, so that does not apply to me. Pauline is also a suspect of choice... Mmmh...

_Did the Mole already win an exemption yet?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Mario** : Everyone is disregarding the fact that Flurrie could be the Mole, just because she was a 'victim' of Jojora's conspiracy. Let me tell you one thing. I saw what happened when Toad threw a rock on her car. Let me tell you that she could have seen it coming. Oh yeah, and even if the car hadn't been damaged by his throw, we could have lost because of her mad driving. I'm surprised she hasn't been penalized for that yet, by the way.

_What is the Mole's job?_

_-Sculptor_

_-Fashion Designer_

_-Gardener_

_-Model_

_-Plumber_

_-Butler_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Actress_

**Toad **: Noki and Bootler are two shy players, who seem to do really great during the mental challenges. What's funny though, is that both of them fail when we think they will succeed. With them, it's all-or-nothing.

_Who is the Mole?_

_-Toad_

_-Pauline_

_-Bootler_

_-Flurrie_

_-Noki_

_-Mario_

_-Jojora_

_-Birdo_

...

The players had taken their quizzes and were now heading to the location where would take place their third execution. They did not have to walk much, as Monty Mole was waiting for them near a dragon statue. It may have been more exact to say that he was waiting for them inside the dragon's mouth, which was not particularly reassuring. One by one, Pauline, Toad, Mario, Flurrie, Jojora, Birdo, Noki and Bootler took a seat and waited for Monty Mole to began his usual speech.

"Welcome everyone, yo your third execution. As you may already know, the player who scored the lowest on the quiz will be eliminated..."

The players nodded, anxiety in their eyes. The host carried on.

"Well, normally, that is. This time, things will be different."

He received puzzled stares as he went to take a suitcase, hidden behind a table. He put it on the table and opened it.

"This suitcase contains fifty thousand coins. These coins can be yours...if you leave the adventure immediately," he added, his voice booming. The contestants looked at each other, unsure as to what their reactions should be.

"Additionally, if one of you were to take this suitcase and leave the game immediately, twenty thousand coins will be added to your pot. It could constitute an act of redemption, I suppose."

"Mmmh... May I ask something?" asked Bootler. Monty Mole nodded. "Well, if nobody takes it, and somebody gets eliminated, do they earn the coins for themselves by default?"

Monty Mole smiled and shook his head. "It would be a little too convenient if it happened that way, wouldn't you say? I'll give you five minutes to think hard about it. After that, we will begin the execution. You can interrupt me at anytime of the execution, as long as a red screen haven't shown up yet."

Some players looked at one another, sending each other signals. Others preferred to focus on the black screen, while the last ones had their head buried into their hands. Five minutes passed, and Monty Mole began to call the players by their name. "Toad."

Toad went to the device and inserted his exemption card into the slot. He wore a confident smile on his face.

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"Bootler." The ghost did not lose one second and did the same as Toad had done before. He was looking pretty stoical.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN **

After he returned to his seat, Jojora volunteered to go. Monty Mole complied. "Jojora."

Jojora stood up from her seat and walked straight toward the screen while her name was typed.

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Monty Mole began to call their name randomly. "Noki."

**N-O-K-I**

…

…

…

…

..-

"Wait! I'll take it!"

"Are you sure? Once you have taken it, there will be no turning back," warned them Monty Mole.

"I'm sure of that," confirmed the player.

"Very well then, please take your belongings and follow me outside." The figure nodded took their bag and turned toward the players.

"I hope you will keep on having a good time here. Good luck everyone, and especially you, Mole."

Noki waved goodbye. "I can't believe she sacrificed herself like that..."

"That happened so fast..." commented Toad.

Birdo nodded. "Yeah, she needed the money, so I'm really happy she took the offer. I was hoping someone would take it before a red screen would appear. I'm really glad the person who left the game tonight didn't leave it empty-handed."

"Each game has its twists. This one just appears to have the best and the most crucial of them all. It's the Mole for you, one wrong move and you're going down." Mario shook his head. "Hopefully, she left the game on a positive note."

…

Monty Mole and Flurrie were waiting for the latter's helicopter, on the floating island. The actress was glancing at the dragon's mouth in which were located the other players who were waving at her in the distance.

"So, I suppose it is finally the end of your game... Why did you choose to take the money and leave?"

"Well, first of all, I couldn't be too sure about my results. I mean, I could have been the lowest scorer, and then, I would have looked pretty dumb not to have taken the coins. I didn't really want anyone to leave either, to be honest. And the most important reason was that I needed that money. It will be useful if I want to have a home built for the Punies."

"That was a most laudable intention," smiled Monty Mole. "I really wish you would leave on a positive note, but I'm not sure you lived an adventure of a lifetime..."

"Seriously Monty Mole, I had a wonderful time. In spite of our quarrels with Jojora, I really lived an adventure of a lifetime, as you put it. This experience had me getting stronger than before, and strength is something you need in the showbiz. I met some incredible persons, some who never ever left my side. I discovered true friends. I also discovered what the word 'adversity' meant, and for that I thank Jojora and Donkey. I'm sure that once the game is over, I'll stay in touch with everyone. All the drama that occurred back then...will probably be more useful to me than anything you could ever imagine. I sense a feeling inside me, I need to feel the light shining upon me... It is time for the splendastic Flurrie to make her comeback on the stage! The audience shall marvel at my sight! Was that too dramatic?" she laughed.

Monty Mole was at a loss of words. Flurrie giggled once again, before spotting her helicopter. "I'll miss you, The Mole !" she yelled, before entering her vehicle. Soon it took off, taking with him the Mole's third victim.

Seven remain. Who is the Mole?


	12. Challenges from Home

**Met Guard** : Well, it looked like I took my time, this time around. *shot viciously with a watermelon* Ah-hem, I'm glad you liked the challenge, because, well, they seem great in my imagination, but since I'm a really good writer, I thought it would come out as a very uninteresting one. Well, some challenges are worse, like the one of this chapters. It also looked great on paper too, though... Your guess was still fairly accurate, I think ! ^^ Thanks for the review. ^^

**Champ** : Hide your joy. *shot* Well, I knew Flurrie wouldn't last long because almost nobody likes her, and I had a bit of trouble portraying her faithfully. I'm glad you liked her departure. XD See, you were right with your prediction about Flurrie (although I kind of suspect it was your wish... XD). Thanks for the review, and don't worry about forgetting. You don't even have to do it, but you're kind enough to do it, so thank you. ^^

**Koopa2pa** : Yes, I also think she was being a little too selfish during her time on the show. ^^ And sorry for your list, but you know, that's the same thing for me. All the obvious non-Moles leave when I've crossed them from my list a long time ago. And in the end, I end up with two suspects, and it usually the one that I do not suspect who is the Mole. XD Thanks for the review.

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, Toad and Bootler were still going for the exemptions, willing to sacrifice twenty thousand coins. On the other part, Noki, Mario, Flurrie, Jojora, Birdo and Pauline were racing like crazy to pass the two exemption-hungry players in order to add those twenty thousand coins into the team pot. In the end, both teams were neck to neck, but Toad and Bootler eventually won their exemptions when it was revealed that Flurrie's car was damaged. After that, the players could do whatever they wanted to do. Toad filled Flurrie, Noki and Birdo on Jojora's plan, and the latter dismantled her coalition, leaving an upset Pauline, a planning Mario as well as a collected Bootler without the clue to the Mole's identity. During the third execution, Flurrie left, taking with her fifty thousand coins after a shocking twist. Six genuine players remain, who will leave next?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

12 : Challenges from Home

Monty Mole was gone, that night. Where? Nobody but him, the crew, as well as some special guests knew it. He had business to attend to, and could not stay at the hotel. Unbeknownst to the players, he was actually preparing the next challenge they would have to try to win.

Now awake and eating around the lunch table, the players were questioning Monty's absence.

"I find it very peculiar that Monty Mole is not sitting with us at this very moment," commented Bootler, cleaning his mouth with his towel. "Usually, it is around that time that he tells us what the challenge will be or when and where it will take place."

"Yeah, it's odd," agreed Mario. "Maybe the challenge has already started?" Jojora shrugged. Pauline shook her head.

"It can't be, I mean... Well, you know, we usually have some kind of clue to begin a challenge. Here, we've got nothing. And I kind of doubt that we can win a challenge randomly. It would be pure luck." Birdo looked up from her plate.

"I heard a helicopter last night," piped in Birdo.

"Well, that was awkward. Why would you say that you heard one last night anyway... It's not relevant, right? And why would you remember it?" inquired a suspicious Pauline.

"Well, the question should rather be : Why didn't you hear it and why can't you make the link between Monty's absence and the helicopter Birdo heard last night? I can't believe I'm surrounded by fools," Jojora sighed deeply, as if all the misery of the world was on her shoulders. Pauline shot her an angry look.

"Geez, it sure looks like a great way to start the day," noted Toad. Beside him, Noki nodded her head.

**Noki** : Game-wise, I believe I'm in a great position, right now. Currently, and as far as I know, Birdo and I are the only two persons in a coalition. Jojora may have the clue to the Mole's identity, but we maintain good relationships with the other players. And anyway, a clue is useless if you can't understand it.

**Birdo** : I'm still upset about Flurrie's departure, yet quite happy for her since she's going to help her friends with it. Flurrie is my friend, my coalition partner, a person that I didn't suspect to be the Mole and I kind of think that she wouldn't have faced a red screen, yesterday.

**Mario** : Yesterday's twist really annoyed me, and still annoys me. I'm trying to stay very polite with you guys, but this twist...totally killed my game.

Soon enough, Mario was finished with his meal. He stood up from his chair and asked the question which answer was needed by everyone. "So... What are we supposed to do now?"

Obviously, nobody had the answer, but Birdo had an idea. "We could always try to knock on Monty's door to see if he really is here, or not?" She received various nods.

"Well then, it is settled. Let us go to the Mole's room!" chuckled Bootler heartily, followed by his fellow players.

…

Going up the stairs noisily and conversing loudly, the players arrived to the room of "Mole", presumably for the host's surname. Crowded around Room 106, the players waited patiently for an answer after Mario had knocked three times on his door. However, they were never given a proper answer, as Monty Mole greeted them from behind.

"Hello! May I be of any help?" Noki let out a shriek, but calmed herself when she realized it was only their host.

"Please, stop surprising us like that!" she ordered. Jojora stepped forward.

"We were looking for you. Where were you?"

"I was actually preparing your next challenge, that's why I wasn't here until now. And now that I'm finished, we will be able to begin, if that's okay with you, of course. Let's go back to the dining room, if you please."

**Toad** : This game is full of surprises. You never know what might happen. I think our next mission is really important, since, you know, Monty Mole needed to go somewhere in a helicopter to prepare it.

…

Monty Mole, followed by the players, went down the stairs and back into the dining room. There, he turned back to the players, and asked them a simple question : who shouldn't take part in the next mission?

"How much time do we have?" questioned Noki.

"Well, I don't have any restriction for you guys, but try not to be too long. It would be useless and really stupid," answered Monty Mole, after he sat on a chair.

"Well, it's a tough one. We don't even know what kind of mission we'll be playing in," noted Pauline. Toad scratched the back of his head.

"We can sit out a weak player, someone who we think is the Mole or someone that deserves to take a break. I think those are our choices. If it were only me, I would choose to reward someone for their hard work."

Bootler rubbed his chin. "Why would you do so?"

Toad nodded and coughed a bit before giving his answer. "As far as I recall, according to the researches I've made prior to the game...the only time Monty asked this question was when the players had to take dares. Humiliating dares, I mean."

Birdo smiled weirdly, sneezing at the same time. "I think I have a cold, so maybe I can sit out of this one?" The others sent her bored looks. Birdo coughed another time. When she saw that it did not affect the others, she gave up. "Okay, maybe I'm not that sick, but even I deserve to take a break once in a while!"

"You were useless during the last challenge."

Birdo glared at Jojora. "Shut up."

Pauline saw the confrontation as an opportunity to ditch Jojora, even if it was only for a challenge. "How about that? Since Jojora always brings negativity with her, we could make her sit out of this challenge, right?"

"I like that idea," smiled Birdo, truthfully. Bootler shook his head.

"We need to think rationally. We cannot sit out a player simply because they are not liked. Let's hear everyone's input on that matter. If I had to sit out a weak member, it would be myself or Pauline, because she is still wearing high heels."

**Jojora** : If Pauline is suspicious? Heck yeah she is! We've told her plenty of times to stop putting on high heels but she keeps on doing otherwise. Those are only shoes, for god sake, if she weren't so full of herself, she could add more money to the pot, but it's like she doesn't care. With an additional five thousand coins, she could buy at least ten pairs of shoes! People only look at big sabotages and totally forget about that kind of thing, because they think nobody can change people's personality. I can tell you that it's rather easy to mask your true feelings and to play a role.

Toad shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I would nominate Mario, because I think it's like the challenge in season one."

The sound of Noki's voice was finally heard. "To be honest, I would nominate Mario too, because I think he did not make us lose much money during the previous challenges. He deserves this break."

"Look, okay, we got it. The only thing that's bothering me, is that Mario is the most physical player of the entire show. If we need strength, I'm sorry to say that, but we're screwed if we rely on Toad and Bootler," demonstrated Jojora.

"Mario, why wouldn't you choose for us?" Noki asked kindly. Mario jumped out of his trance.

"I think that's harsh, Noki. In the end, someone will be the odd man, or woman, out. Since Birdo didn't really want to play in the next challenge, I choose her. Is that okay with everyone?"

Various forms of indifferent replies were heard, leaving Mario to assume that everyone was fine with his decision. Monty Mole nodded and ordered Birdo to come by his side. "Birdo, come here, please. As the selected player, you will not participate in today's challenge. But fear not! We have a special surprise for you... Mysterious Person, please reveal yourself!"

Coming from behind the red curtains was an individual that Birdo knew and recognized instantly, for he was Yoshi, her romantic interest. She squealed, delighted, and ran at full speed towards him, throwing herself into his arms in the process. The others were left mouths agape.

**Toad** : I'll be honest with you guys, but I don't really think Birdo deserved to get a break, since she isn't really the one who helps the most during challenges. At the same time, I'm just glad Jojora didn't win the right to see someone she liked.

**Bootler** : What bothers me is this single question : what would have happened if Birdo had not been selected? Surely, Yoshi could not be the reward of everyone, so how did they know exactly that Birdo would have the opportunity to see him? Then again, Birdo did volunteer, and quite rapidly if I do say so myself.

"Well players, I guess that sets the tone for you next mission, right? Now please follow me, you will be having your next challenge very soon. Oh, and Birdo, before I forget. Since the players elected you as the person who did not have to partake in today's challenge, you can do whatever you want to do with Yoshi, your loved one. Please be sure to join us in the lobby in one hour or two, however."

Birdo smiled. She then whispered some words in Yoshi's ear, and although he frowned slightly, he still seemed to have agreed with her. "Since the others were really cool to let me have this break, Yoshi and I think it's only natural to cheer them on for this challenge."

"I'm not sure it will be really feasible, but if you insist. You might want to order some drinks before they start, so just to let you know, meet me before Gate Five."

With that, Monty Mole set off at a brisk pace, forcing the six other players to jog to keep up with him.

…

Fifteen minutes later, Monty Mole and the players, minus Birdo, were all standing before Gate Five. Monty Mole was wearing a small grin upon seeing the faces of the nervous six contestants. Eventually, he began to explain the rules of the challenge.

"First of all, this challenge is named 'Family Problems'. If you win this challenge, thirty thousand coins will be added to your pot and all six of you will get to see your loved one. Your relatives, whomever they might be, will stay with you for the entire episode. Obviously, they won't be able to help you during challenges, though."

Monty Mole cleared his throat and went on with the explanations. "This mission will be really tricky - I guess some of you already knew that after you nominated Birdo to rest, a few moments before. Each of you will be competing against a loved one. One of your relatives, so that makes it six in total, is hiding behind one of those gates, waiting for a challenger to come. Before you goes against anyone, you will be informed of the contents of the mini challenges they prepared for you. Each of you must take up a challenge, nobody can go twice. If you win, you will free a loved one and add five thousand coins into the pot. However, if you lose, you will earn nothing."

"I can already smell a twist, aren't I correct?" besought Bootler.

"Huh? A twist?" asked a bewildered Toad.

**Pauline** : In my honest opinion, Bootler could be the greatest Mole we've ever had. Smart and sly, he can easily cover up every mistakes he makes. I've also noticed that he seems to always save the day, yet he sabotages and nobody pays him any attention, because, like, he's way too old, give the guy some slack, no way, he's too likeable, and everything, you know?

**Mario** : Birdo's my prime suspect for the Mole. But I have to say that everyone is fishy. I kind of doubt it's Jojora, because she takes everything seriously. Well, if she is the Mole, I'm totally gone this episode, since she has my entire trust. I don't even know why I'm digressing like that when you only asked my opinion about Bootler, but whatever.

Bootler smiled elegantly and answered. "If we look closely... We only need to 'beat' our loved ones at their own game, don't we? And, as far as the rules go, we are free to defy our own relatives. Then, assuming that nothing else was omitted, we can safely say that we will win this game easily. If we were to tell our friends and family to let us win, they would let us win. I have no doubt about that."

Noki looked stoical. "Yes, I've noticed that too. And the title of this mission was bothering me for some reason."

Monty Mole chuckled. "You are all as sharp as ever. It seems like you are merging with the game. But enough dillydallying. Victory won't be as quite easy to reach as you would imagine. Beforehand, we told your loved ones that you were told that if you were to beat them during a challenge, you would be able to see them and win money, and that it was completely false. We told them that in order for you to see them, they would have to beat the opponent that came to defy them. Of course, we never told them how psychological this game was. And we lied to them. To add spice to this challenge, of course. Be warned that you cannot communicate with them, and that we forbade them from doing the same. Are there any questions? If not, we might as well start now, since Birdo and Yoshi seem to be ready to join you."

Nobody spoke up. The host saw that as a cue to continue. "Well then, I'll tell you about your opponents." He pointed toward Gate Three. "Behind this gate is Chucklissa, Jojora's best friend. Someone quick, nimble, who has a lot of stamina can overcome this challenge, as it involves dodging things thrown at a great speed."

The players looked intently at the gate, while Yoshi and Birdo murmured quietly between each other, exchanging thoughts. "Let's choose who will take this challenge," suggested Jojora. "I personally nominate Mario."

"What about Toad?" tried a shy Noki. "He has great speed and his tiny body – no offense – could let him have an advantage..."

"I think we should hear what the others challenge are about," agreed Toad. Jojora clenched her fits.

"Look, I know you don't like me, but it's no reason to ignore me. Five thousand coins are at stake, and I'm convinced only Mario can beat her. I mean, look at you! There's no way anyone else can win this. Trust me, I know her, and she is far stronger than anyone else. But since Mario can lift overgrown turtles, he might have a chance."

Pauline shrugged. "We'll see after we heard about everything. Monty, please continue."

"Very well. Behind Gate Four is Toadette, Toad's girlfriend. It is a culinary challenge, people who know how to bake a cake can surely participate in this challenge, as long as their creativity is existent and their taste buds alive. On a side note, the judge will be a weirdo, so be careful not to wet your pants." The players looked at Monty Mole, incredulously. "What? It's not my description."

"Right," chuckled Mario, followed by the others. "Anyway, next one please."

"The next one is this very gate. Behind it awaits the only one that can best Mario's jumping abilities, his own brother, Luigi. Someone who is geared up for anything might want to give a speedy go to this challenge." The host paused. "The pun isn't mine, we let your loved ones explain the things you would have to do!" he protested, when he heard sniggering.

"We'll need someone who knows how to drive... Flurrie would have been more than helpful," noted Noki.

Monty Mole looked at everyone and went on. "Behind Gate Six is Pianta, Noki's friend and associate, who is also a pilot. People who know how to adapt in time of crisis have better chances to win this challenge." When nobody said anything, he explained who was behind Gate Seven. "Behind Gate Seven is Grace, Pauline's childhood friend, who introduced her to the model agency she was working for. A stylish and fashionable person that knows how to coordinate clothes and satisfy clients will most likely succeed in this challenge."

"Easy," bragged Pauline. "This one is all me!"

"Hurry up with the final one!" snapped an impatient Jojora.

"Right... Finally, behind Gate Eight is Lady Bow, a Boo princess that is also Bootler's loved one. People that know proper etiquette are likely to win this challenge, as long as they are good negotiators," finished Monty Mole.

**Birdo** : I found it amusing that the descriptions the loved one gave matched up with the players' abilities and personalities.

Immediately after Monty Mole finished his announcement, Bootler decided to compete against his own relative and went towards Gate Eight, while Pauline did the same and went to Gate Seven.

**Noki**: I really found suspicious the fact that they never let us discuss about the choice we should make. The justification they gave us were not really satisfying. They were saying things like : "We can easily win this challenge since we know what to expect from them", but really, I think they wanted to sabotage the mission without making us angry.

**Mario** : From the get-go, Pauline and Bootler decided to take care of their relative's challenge, without asking our point of view, thus limiting our possibilities. I am fairly sure Noki could have won Lady Bow's challenge, and I'm sure mostly everyone here could have won the fashion challenge.

"Who knows how to cook? I don't, so I can't take my girlfriend's challenge," Toad told everyone. Noki quickly noticed the direction in which three pairs of eyes were turned.

"Fine, I'll do it! But that does not please me one bit..." Toad thanked her.

"Thanks Noki. Well, now it's us three. I can drive a car, so maybe I could race with Luigi? And then Jojora could take care of Pianta's challenge and Mario could do Chucklissa's? That's only a suggestion..."

Mario looked at Jojora for a minute and nodded. "Yeah, I'll do this one. Hopefully it's not impossible to win..."

Monty Mole looked delighted. "We can finally begin this challenge. Birdo and Yoshi, you can look at the players' progression on this laptop. Players, I wish you good luck. Enter your pipes."

The players, more or less anxious, depending on the task they were assigned to, entered the Warp Pipes shyly. Just after that, Monty Mole turned to Birdo, a smirk drawn on his face. "Well Birdo, I wanted to ask for your predictions later, but since you are here, we'll proceed differently. Everyone but Bootler will have to remain quiet in front of the relatives, or at least, let's say that they won't be able to respond to the relatives' taunts." Yoshi looked at Birdo, surprised to see her so focused.

"Please go on," Birdo demanded gently.

Monty Mole now wore a big grin. "Well, it's now your chance to win a plus one for your next quiz. Mario, Jojora, Noki, Toad and Pauline cannot speak to the relatives, but the relatives can. To earn your plus one, you will have to choose one of the relatives who will be asked, secretly, to break the ice with his or her opponent. Should the player respond, his or her part of the challenge will be worth two thousand coins instead of five thousand. Whether they win or lose won't matter : the exemption will be yours. So, do you choose to stimulate one of the players?"

"You bet I'll choose one! I'm tempted to choose Jojora, but I think Pauline is more likely to break the rules...like always. So, please contact Grace, I really need this boost since the previous episode did not really confirm whether or not I was on the right track," justified Birdo.

"Very well."

"Wow, I actually thought you would refuse," trailed an astonished Yoshi.

Birdo chuckled. "Well, in a game like this, you can't really dismiss such an opportunity, can you?"

…

A Lakitu from the crew brought Mario to his destination, Chilly Waters. Obviously, Mario was dressed adequately. The Lakitu escorted him to the right of a giant Mr. Blizzard, and he took note of an ugly yet quite strong woman with pink hair and plenty of make-up on, who was certainly two times as tall as him.

"Well, you both know the contents of this challenge. Chucklissa, your goal is to aim snowballs at Mario. Shoot him three times before he reaches the big wooden panel on which is written 'START' and you win. Mario, you now know what you have to do. You can't start yet, but at the sound of the buzzer, you may. If nobody wins the challenge within two hours, it will be considered as a draw, and as such, Chucklissa will be declared winner."

Mario quickly went behind a ramp, and spied on the Lakitu and Chucklissa. "Well, she really seems strong, so I'm glad someone like Birdo didn't have to take this challenge, but still... I'm not sure that I can do it myself... With the snow and everything..."

Mario looked ahead of him and analyzed his surroundings, probably trying to find which route would be the safest. A few minutes after that, he heard a buzzer and carefully stepped his way out of his hiding out. As soon as she saw him, Chucklissa threw a snowball at an alarming speed toward him. He dived out of the way, but it was useless, the snowball touched his shoe. "Crap, only two more tries!" he exclaimed.

This time, Mario did not try to be careful. He ran at full speed toward three big trees, hearing the sound of the snowballs crashing behind him. After a few seconds, he decided that his strategy could do the trick, and once again, tried to reach an igloo, behind which he could hide. However, the snow around the igloo was thicker, impeding Mario's progress. Chucklissa scored a direct hit, and Mario was left in a daze. Thankfully, he still managed to reach the igloo, and tried to recover from the hit.

During that time, he grumbled and elaborated a strategy. "I may have still a chance to win if I know where she throws the snowball, but if I keep my eyes out of the way, I might trip of something..."

Nevertheless, Mario gave his strategy a try, and solely focused and Chucklissa's snowball. He almost fell one time, but quickly recovered and narrowly dodged a snowball. When he couldn't see her anymore, because his neck would not allow him, he made a sharp bend and hid behind what looked like a tomb. He could see victory approaching, but at the same time, he knew that Chucklissa only needed one more snowball to connect with her target to win. And she now had an advantage as he could not see her anymore. Cleverly, Mario created a diversion. He threw a snowball on a nearby panel, the sound it produced drawing Chucklissa's attention. Mario sped at full speed behind big trees, where her snowballs could not reach him, and eventually reached the finish line, winning the first challenge and allowing Chucklissa to come with him.

Chucklissa, who was not aware of this twist, was not particularly happy to see Mario winning the challenge. "You blew my only chance to see my best friend! Now I'll have to wait forever to see her again, since she's on the show!"

Mario looked surprised, but explained everything to her. "Relax and just come with me, this is a little more complex than what you imagine it is. Since the challenge is over, I guess I have the right to talk to you, so I'll explain on our way."

…

The cooking challenge, behind Gate Four opposed Noki to Toadette, and took place at Koopa's Seaside Soiree. Toadette was already waiting there, chatting happily with a Koopa who was the owner of a little hotel. Brought there by a Goomba who was part of the crew, Noki arrived, looking a little intimidated at Toadette, a person to whom she had never talked. Sensing her nervousness, Toadette greeted her.

"Hello, my name is Toadette! Don't be so shy, I don't bite!" she laughed. This single sentence reassured Noki, who smiled a little.

"Well, my name is Noki and I'm very pleased to meet you," she greeted in a formal way. "So, I guess you are my opponent for this challenge?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot that we had a challenge. May the best woman win, then," she winked.

"So, are you ready girls?" asked the enthusiastic owner. "Your goal is simple : you have one hour to bake a cake. You've been provided with your own utensils, your own cooking table and well, everything you need in order to cook, I guess. Just so you know, our oven are extremely powerful, so you won't need to wait an hour to have your cake baked. Well, the challenge begins now, so good luck girls!"

Toadette flipped through the pages of her book and found the cake Toad liked the most. Although she was not an extremely good cook and had never done this recipe before, she thought that it was also probably new to Noki too. She decided to make Chocolate Brownies.

As to Noki, well, she settled on a Framboisier, a sweet raspberry cake. She had only tasted one once and it was a long time ago, but she knew she could score extra points if she cooked an original cake. And she was one hundred percent positive that Toadette did not know a thing about this.

Noki prepared her ingredients and started to work efficiently. Thinking an hour was not sufficient to do follow the entire recipe, she decided to forget about the first 'useless' part of the cake and to directly work on the biggest part. "So, let's start by putting the sponge cake inside of the cake ring..."

As the recipe was telling her, she cut two rings of sponge cake, of the dimension of the cake ring, and placed the first one inside of this very cake ring, storing the second one. She soaked gelatin sheets in cold water and let them inside. She then warmed the raspberry coulis inside a pan and added caster sugar. The recipe then actually told her to dry the gelatin sheets, but she totally forgot to do it. Instead, she directly went on to the next par which consisted on putting the gelatin sheets on the lukewarm coulis, which she did.

She had a little trouble stirring them, because she had forgotten to dry them, but eventually she succeeded and placed the coulis inside a clean frying pan. From time to time, she stirred it so that it wouldn't liquefy, but lost valuable time in the process.

After that, Noki beat the liquid cream into a whipped cream and put a quarter of it into her coulis, and mixed well with a whisk. She looked at Toadette and saw that she had chosen to make brownies. Needless to say, Noki was relieved to see that her efforts would surely be more rewarded than Toadette's.

When she obtained a perfect mixture she poured it into the remaining whipped cream and once again mixed it, but with haste, this time. After having vigorously mixed the mixture, she poured half of its contents into the cake ring. She put some raspberries into her masterpiece and poured the remaining mixture in it and smoothed out the surface of her cake with a metal spatula. She removed the cake from the cake ring, beat whipped cream to Chantilly and added icing sugar. Using a special bag, she decorated the cake with chantilly – hiding some slight imperfection, by the way, and finished her chef-d'œuvre by putting more raspberries on top of it, sprinkling them with sugar. She put them in the fridge and waited a little moment.

Eventually, the 'judge' tasted both cakes. Immediately, a weird reaction occurred. "OOOOOOOH MY GOOOOD! THIS IS SOOOOOO GOOOD!" The obese judge, who has had cake-triggered orgasms for his whole life, began to jump up and down, screaming excitedly, and ran everywhere at full speed, bumping into angry customers.

"Ew... Such a disturbing sight," commented Toadette, looking at Gourmet Guy who was foaming at the mouth and blabbering non-sense. Noki shivered.

When he settled, he thought both of them were exquisite but ultimately rewarded Noki for her hard work. Then, Noki and Toadette tasted the two cakes before leaving the Koopa.

"Well, too bad I lost... Oh well, make sure Toad doesn't say silly things in front of millions of viewers," laughed Toadette, trying to sound happy.

"Why wouldn't you tell him yourself? It's actually a good thing that you did not win the challenge, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see him. Come with me, I think Monty Mole has to explain you some things," smiled Noki politely.

…

Toad followed the Lakitu who was guiding him through two warp pipes, and finally ended up high above the sky, on what appeared to be a racetrack. Greeted by an honorable Star Spirit, he quickly found out that his game would be rather simple, yet terribly hard at the same time. Beating the ace kart racer that was Luigi could be very problematic.

"Hey!" greeted Luigi. Toad did not respond. "Wow, that was rather cold... Well, I guess I won't have to hide my joy once I've won this challenge. Let's go !"

Looking at the race, he found it extremely familiar to figure eight, another racetrack he had been driving on for a few years. Toad put his seat-belt and hopped into his kart.

"Well, it will be a simple race. No item, three laps, foxes only, final destination!" cackled the Lakitu in a weird way. "Errr... Forget what I just said, okay?" Toad and Luigi were still uneasy in their seat, but quickly focused and sped up like blasts of light as soon as Lakitu gave them the permission to go.

The two racers were really neck to neck during the race, and while Toad gained an advantage during the second lap, when Luigi collided into the race's outline, but quickly lost it as Luigi pulled through rather easily, and reclaimed first place. Soon, they were in the home stretch, when Toad, full of surprises, rammed into Luigi's kart and shoved him away. Luigi's kart went out of control, as he did not expect such a low blow coming from Toad. Toad then resumed racing and crossed the finish line first.

Luigi was not particularly happy at the outcome of the race, but said nothing. Toad then noticed him, and invited him to go back to Monty Mole. "It will be worth it, I tell you. C'mon Luigi, don't be such a baby, I had to win because Mario asked me to win this challenge so he could see you."

Luigi raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. Eventually, he began to follow Toad.

Three had succeeded to beat their opponents. Three remained. Would all of the players be able to see their loved one? Only time would tell.

* * *

Oh, the pain of writing about Noki's part... I don't even know half of the specific words I used in her challenge in French, so... You don't imagine how horrible it was. And boring. I should have written something else, but oh well... I also apologize for my lack of culinary knowledge. I don't like to eat, and I know what a cookie or what a brownie is, but the things you call waffles... I've never seen them in my whole life, so I took the easy way out and made Noki bake a French cake ? Or at least, something that exists here. ^^'

That rant aside, I hope you still like the story. Thanks for your reviews, and sorry for the very late chapter. ^^


	13. Intrusion

**Vivalahomestar** : Thank you for your comment ! ^^ Actually no, I don't think these challenges were used in an actual season of the Mole. I don't really know since I only watched some seasons on youtube... ^^' Yeah, people already told me this, but don't worry, I can use a reminder. ^^ Thanks for your review and good luck for your story. ^^

**Ice Empoleon** : Wow, huge review ! Thanks ! I like to see your comments, because they are really well built. I wish I could do something like that. ^^"" Nice list, very detailed. I like how you separated them in category rather than in a list order, that seems more like an actual entry of a player's journal. ^^ Sorry for the omission, I can be really scatter-brained, sometimes. ^^' Thanks for your review (sorry that my response isn't as huge as your comment, but I can't really say anything about your suspicions, like "you're on the right track", or "you're dead wrong". Well, you know what I mean. ^^"").

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players minus Flurrie, were worried about their host disappearance. After knocking on the door of his room, Birdo revealed that she heard a helicopter during the night, leaving the others to conclude that their host had probably gone somewhere during the night. Afterward, Monty Mole showed up and asked the players to nominate who would not participate in the next challenge. After a little debate, Noki asked Mario to choose, and since Birdo literally volunteered to do nothing, he chose her. It was then revealed to them that the chosen player would be able to spend time with their loved one. Following this event, Monty Mole explained what their next challenge would be : defying their loved one. Thirty thousand coins were at stake, and already three players had succeeded in their own challenge. Would the other three follow suit?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

13 : Intrusion

The host, Birdo and Yoshi were all waiting for good news. So far, they knew three players had succeeded in their challenge, and Birdo was really happy.

"We don't really win much money... Usually we think we won, but then, all of a sudden, you tell us some shocking news, and we learn that we lost. But this time, you won't be able to do the same!" she exclaimed, feeling livelier than ever.

"Maybe, maybe not," murmured the host. "Well, let's see how the others do."

Yoshi leaned over Birdo's shoulder and watched Jojora's progress. "Your game is so sadistic Monty, I don't think you realize it," he chuckled. "Birdo told me about the first mission and how everyone had to take things that did not really belong to them."

Monty Mole laughed with Yoshi, still watching the players. "Ah, the first mission... Those were good times. I really liked the baffled stares I received when I announced the results of this challenge. To be honest, I probably won't forget them."

Birdo looked annoyed. "Yeah, right. You wouldn't have said the same thing if you had been in our position. Anyway, let's shut up and watch the others. It's Jojora's turn."

…

A Goomba led Jojora to her destination, Astro Avenue, a wide area situated in space, full of technology and different species of living beings. Jojora was glad for the Marioverse's strange laws of physics because they allowed her to breath in space without anything. When they reached Pianta, him and the blue fairy only acknowledged each other with a polite nod.

"Jojora and Pianta. You will be confined in these rather tiny rooms," announced the Goomba. "There's a computer in each and they are soundproof. Catastrophes will be simulated by the computer, and each time you will have to do something to make a counter stop, counter which acts like your 'life' in this game. It slowly decreases over the course of time."

The Goomba took his breath again. "Please note that destroying the computer isn't an option. It can projects holograms who will be able to understand you, since they are just images of actual persons who can hear you from their home, thanks to a device whose functioning isn't worthwhile describing. Anyway, nobody will die if you lose this challenge. Just be quick, calm and think hard. Good luck!"

Jojora entered the room on the left and faced the computer. As soon as she entered, she heard a high-pitched scream coming from behind her. She saw a woman on a stool, and a mouse under the same object. She glanced at them both for a while, before slapping her forehead. "Go get a therapy for God's sake!"

The hologram looked at her, and realized she was right. She gained five more seconds on her timer and was back at ninety nine. "Are they kidding me...?" She wondered aloud. Suddenly, another person in dire need of help appeared behind her. This inhabitant of Flipside whispered something to her, and was apparently cowering in a corner of a room.

"I need help, I think there's a burglar in my house... Or even a killer... Oh no, they are approaching!"

Jojora thought about the situation for a moment. "Well, hiding won't help much, but going into action doesn't seem like a solution either... If there's a door in your room, hide behind it, and as soon as you think the person enters your room slam it in their face!"

The person complied. When they did so, the hologram disappeared, and Jojora saw that she still had over seventy seconds left on her timer. Bored, Jojora started to ferret around, when she heard a static sound she interpreted as an appearing new hologram. Immediately, she turned her attention on the new 'being'.

"So what? Aren't you going to say what's wrong?" Jojora asked rudely.

"How rude can you get?" scoffed a floating being, crossing her arms and visibly annoyed. "I cannot tolerate such behavior."

Jojora rolled her eyes, as a reply. "Look, I don't know who you, nor where you are. But I don't care. I just need you to state your problem so I can win this challenge."

'Fair enough. I, Luvbi Nimbis, did not want to stoop so low anyway. I am waiting for the perfect opportunity to meet my kindred spirit but I cannot seem to meet anyone that would fulfill my expectations. What should I do?"

"What the heck?" Jojora exclaimed. "What kind of question is that?" Luvbi only smiled smugly as a reply.

"Well, I don't know, perhaps you could go outside, or stop being so pompous?" spat Jojora like venom.

Luvbi raised an eyebrow. "I am waiting."

Jojora tried to make her leave by any mean possible, but eventually, she failed. Before her hologram disappeared, Luvbi taunted her. Jojora had failed her part.

…

Pauline was led to a beautiful cruiser, the MSS Sea Star. More precisely, she was brought to one of the ship's luxury shop and was delighted to see that Grace, her friend, was waiting for her. As soon as Grace saw the woman dressed in red, she ran and hugged her.

"Wow, it's been so long since the time we've last went shopping together!" recalled Grace. "So, how's your game? Is it going your way?"

Pauline smiled. "Hold on a second! I can't really answer if you don't give me the time to do so..."

"Whoops, sorry! You know, everyone misses you at work. But you seem to be doing fine, so that's okay with us!"

"Yeah, the game is awesome! A little tiring, but hey, it's worth the trouble," answered Pauline.

Behind them, a Lakitu coughed loudly. The girls both jumped and turned their attention to him. "It was time you noticed me. Well, follow me inside."

"Your challenge will be simple. We've selected for you guys-"

"Girls," corrected Pauline and Grace at the same time.

"We've selected for you, _girls_, clients. It will be your job to dress them accordingly to their request. In the end, they will be the only judges of your work. The one who receives the best grade from their judge, wins the challenge. Good luck."

Both females wished the other one good luck and they joined up with their respective clients. Pauline's was a young girl, which clothes were unsuited, as were their colors. Pauline took her time to reflect, and addressed the girl afterward. "Well, what do you want me to do for you? Which colors do you like the best?"

"Mmmh... Purple!"

Pauline nodded. "I see. What kind of clothes do you prefer? Casual ones, formal ones, cute ones...?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know, I just like purple."

"I see... Well, come with me, we'll try to find something good that would suit you." Pauline explored the shop a little, and quickly found out the location of the purple clothes. "You know," she started, looking intently at her surroundings, "I think you should mix colors with purple. Otherwise, it might look rather bland."

Pauline discharged her task rather quickly. She found purple boots with high-heels, black leggings, a very short purple dress, that stopped a little after the thighs and that had no sleeves, a long-sleeved black T-shirt, purple gloves, long earrings, a silver necklace and make-up. Once the girl was dressed, Pauline made her up.

"Is it good enough for you?" questioned Pauline. The girl nodded and thanked her. Pauline, followed by her customer, returned to the shop's entrance. Five minutes after that, Grace and her client returned too, looking pleased.

"Okay," started the Lakitu, "Now I need you two, to tell me what you think about their performance. Can you come with me for a second?" The girl who was dressed by Grace went first, followed by the other one dressed by Pauline. Soon, the Lakitu was able to announce the results.

"Well, you were really close but... Pauline won. By zero, point zero seven point. I'm sorry Grace."

Grace bit her inferior lip. "Oh no, that means I'll have to go back..."

Pauline giggled. "Actually, Monty Mole lied to you. If you were to win, you wouldn't have seen me, but since I won, well, you can stay here."

Grace had a look of disbelief written on her face. "Really? You're kidding, right?" Pauline shook her head negatively. "Awesome!"

…

Finally, Bootler, the last contestant, entered the Boo Mansion, accompanied by a frightened Lakitu. It was quite an amusing sight, because Bootler was actually leading the Lakitu, rather than the contrary.

A pale green ghost who looked very refined and noble, wearing two red and yellow bows, was waiting for Bootler and the Lakitu to arrive. Bootler smiled instinctively when he saw his princess, but said nothing afraid of breaking the rules.

"Your challenge will begin. You have to convince each other to leave the room, but only by words. If nobody left by the time thirty minutes have passed, Lady Bow will automatically wins. God luck."

Bootler was going to open his mouth and speak up, but he quickly stopped, remembering the rules Monty Mole had given to them. He recalled them perfectly, and knew he could not speak to the loved one who was behind the gate he would take.

"Bootler, may I know why you are not saying a thing?" inquired Lady Bow. Bootler did not give her an answer.

He did not speak for a period of thirty minutes either. Thus, he lost the challenge.

…

Back to where Monty Mole, Birdo and Yoshi were reigned an atmosphere of confusion. Nevertheless, Monty asked Birdo a last favor. "I need you to record your impressions on each player's performance, please."

Birdo complied. "Oh, okay, no problem. Where do I do that?"

"Right here, no need to move. You just need to precise who you are talking about, okay?"

**Birdo** : Mario's performance during his challenge was okay. But he almost lost, and I really thought it was suspicious to see him hesitate at the beginning of the challenge, only to get shot by Chucklissa. He knew she was strong, Jojora had warned him, after all. Yeah, he was fishy.

I think Noki did well with her challenge. I noticed she made some mistakes, here and there, but overall she did a good job for someone who isn't used to bake cakes. Maybe she did too good? I don't really know. The judge was a real creep.

I don't have much to say about Toad. He was on par with Luigi during almost the whole race, but eventually won thanks to a dirty trick. Oh well, he won, I'm not complaining and I'm sure neither will Mario.

Jojora... What a joke! I mean, you don't yell at people when they need help, and you don't insult them either. What kind of helper would do that? I actually thought she would do good, when I saw that Pianta had more troubles than her, but she blew it at the end when she argued with someone she didn't even know. That was so stupid!

Pauline did good, I think. She won by a small margin, but at least she won, unlike some people. I liked her style and the clothes she used, maybe we should go shopping one day?

I have no comment whatsoever to make about Bootler's way to lose the challenge. I'm just waiting for the excuse he'll make when he comes back. He did nothing.

Monty Mole saw that Birdo was finished, and stood up from his chair. Thanks to a walkie-talkie, he demanded to the crew to make the players come back. One by one, Mario, Noki, Toad, Jojora, Pauline and Bootler returned, all unaware of each other's performance.

"Well, congratulation players. I'll tell you the results, now. Mario...has succeeded and did not break any rule. You can thank him, five thousand coins are added to the pot and Jojora may spend time with her loved one."

Chucklissa quickly got out of Gate Three and ran toward Jojora. They gave each other a high-five and hugged.

**Jojora** : I knew Mario would win. I'm really grateful for what he has done. I might even show him the hidden clue, since I'm so good. No, but seriously, I really wanted to see Chucklissa, that will give me a boost, and hopefully I can rest a little. The days that went by, I had to act and to put myself in character. You don't know how hard it was, to be hated from everyone, but it's all part of my strategy.

Monty Mole pursued. "Noki also won her challenge against Toadette, and as such, Toad's loved one is freed and may spend time with him. However, she broke a rule and talked to Toadette before the challenge ended. Only two thousand coins will go to your team pot."

Toadette got out of Gate Four and joined her boyfriend, kissing him tenderly.

**Toad** : That was weird to see that the shy Noki, who wouldn't speak to us much at the beginning of the game, opened so quickly to my girlfriend. I mean, we waited I don't know how much time to finally hear her speaking to us in the first episode, and now, when Monty Mole specifically told us not to speak with our relatives, she breaks that rule. That's just suspicious.

"Let's look at Toad's challenge, shall we? Well, long story short, he succeeded and didn't break the rules. Five thousand coins are awarded for his performance. Also, Luigi might now spend some time with his brother."

An eager Luigi almost tripped when he went out of Gate Five. The players laughed a little and he blushed, walking at a moderate pace toward his brother.

**Mario** : Well, I'm just glad Toad won the challenge, because I really wanted to see Luigi. Thanks Toad, I know this challenge must have been hard for you.

The host went on. "Then, we had Jojora who was playing against Pianta... I'm sorry but she failed. You gain nothing from her attempt."

Noki was on the verge on tears, so Birdo quickly went to her and comforted her, Yoshi following close behind.

**Noki** : Jojora, I can't believe you lost... I'm almost sure you lost on purpose. You're really selfish, and if you are the Mole, I can't believe you would stoop so low...

"Next was Pauline, who was against Grace in a duel of fashion. Pauline won, but she already knew that. However, what she didn't know was that Birdo was offered a plus one at the beginning of the challenge. Out of Grace, Toadette, Luigi, Pianta and Chucklissa, she had to choose someone that would be greatly encouraged to speak with their opponent, fully knowing that if the opponent of the loved one she chose responded, three thousand coins would be lost. Birdo chose Grace. And you, Pauline, fell in her trap. You won two thousand coins for the team and the right to spend some time with Grace, however."

Grace went out of Gate Seven, smiling at everyone.

**Bootler** : How strange. Birdo, in spite of volunteering to be left out of the challenge, still managed to sabotage it. Birdo is a really suspicious individual, but then again, so is Pauline. Well, I cannot rule Toad, Mario, Noki and Jojora out of the list, but those two are my main suspects.

"Finally, Bootler lost his challenge, pretty badly, might I say," announced Monty Mole.

Bootler raised an objection. "You never told me that I would be able to speak with the loved one situated behind Gate Eight."

Startled, Jojora spoke up. "Wait, don't tell me you said nothing?"

"What?" let out a surprised Mario. "Bootler, you must be joking. What kind of negotiator negotiates without saying a thing? That's utterly stupid!"

"Thank you for your praises Mario, but I was never told that I would be able to speak with Milady. At least, not by our host. That is the reason why I naturally thought I was being played by the psychological aspect of the game," explained calmly the butler.

**Pauline** : Bootler said that he thought he challenge had some sort of reverse psychology in it, but I can of doubt nobody told him at one point of the challenge, that he would actually have to speak with Lady Bow. I don't know, that's just obvious in my opinion.

"You still won fourteen thousand coins, not a bad effort, if you know what I mean. The team pot stands up at a grand seventy three thousand coins, congratulations!"

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 30 000 – 16 000 = 14 000

Team Pot : 73 000 coins

Monty Mole chuckled. "Fortunately for you guys, we're no monsters. Pianta, Lady Bow, would you mind coming out of here?"

At those words, Noki jumped up and down with joy, clapping her hands with glee. Altought Bootler was clearly not as demonstrative as her, it was noted that he was actually a little excited, at those news.

"I have some more announcements, so please remain quiet for a few minutes, please. You all know that Flurrie left us yesterday, on her own accord. When she did so, she earned for herself fifty thousand coins, and you guys won twenty thousand coins. So I will add them to your pot right now, which means that it stands up to an amount of ninety three thousand coins, congratulations, once again!"

Execution's Results :

Money Won : 20 000

Team Pot : 93 000 coins

Monty Mole added a last thing. "It would be good if you followed me to the hotel, we need to do interviews!"

The players and their loved ones wondered what Monty Mole meant by that, but quickly dismissed it, too happy to have been able to see each other to care about his puzzling announcement. The little group went back to the hotel, this time with new faces around.

…

Back at the hotel, as expected, the players and their loved ones were asked several questions in front of the camera, each couple secluded from one another. The first question was...

_What is your relative's favorite trait? _

**Birdo & Yoshi – Engaged**

"Well, I don't know!" shrugged Yoshi. "I don't love her for one trait. I love her as a whole entity, you know. If I had to say one thing about her, is that she's pretty kind and clever, and nobody can hate her."

"Aw, Yoshi, you're making me blush," Birdo smiled at her love interest. "It's my turn now? Well, Yoshi's just so sweet, I'm so glad I've met him. And he is cute too..."

Yoshi rubbed the back of his neck. "Now you're making me blush. To tell you one thing : Birdo's awesome!" he revealed.

The two dinosaurs kissed.

**Bootler & Lady Bow – Butler/Mistress**

"Bootler is very caring, and I like him for that trait. But he also can be a pain at times, always watching out for me, following my every move to be sure that I do not hurt myself, and plenty of other things. Thankfully, he is quite the loveable guy, and I'm sure everyone loves him here," Lady Bow told the cameras.

Bootler shook his head. "You know that I swore that I protect you until the end, milady."

Lady Bow looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I know you did, but from times to times, I need to breathe. Hopefully, you will do good until the end so I can relax." Lady Bow paused a little. "But I have to agree that it is pretty boring without you at the mansion, so try to get yourself eliminated soon."

Bootler was in disbelief. Seeing his face made Lady Bow laugh. "Bootler, you should know by now when I am joking and when I am not. Of course I am cheering for you, you must win!"

"Ah... Milady... Always so sincere," sniffled Bootler. "I am proud of you."

Lady Bow groaned. "Oh please, not the tears!"

**Jojora & Chucklissa – Best friends**

"What I like about her? Her truthfulness. Although you probably can't see it much in such a game. But yeah, Jojora isn't a hypocrite, if she's something to say, you can be sure that she'll say it. Also, I like her girlish behavior, it fits her rather well," complimented Chucklissa, chuckling.

"Yeah, we're totally different yet we managed to be best friends... I'm sure a lot of people are confused, now."

Chucklissa did not seem to notice what Jojora had said. "Oh, and her best trait is that she never judges by looks. Well, I can say that she's a bit picky when it comes to the man of her life, but otherwise, she won't judge you. I doubt we would be friends if she did."

**Mario & Luigi – Brothers**

"I love EVERYTHING about my brother! He's way better than me in everything, but I'm handsomer than him," Luigi gloated, making Mario laugh.

"Luigi, you know that we're brothers and equals. My brother is very sensitive above all, and that's what I like about him. He's not a backstabber, he's not a hypocrite, he's cool and maybe a little too nice for his own good, but he's the best brother I could have had," Mario praised, nodding to himself.

Luigi was really happy at that moment. "Yeah, I'm always the underestimated one, but whenever things go wrong, Mario's always here to cheer me up. Heck, he never even said something bad behind my back. He's just perfect for me."

Mario patted Luigi's back. "It's likewise bro."

**Toad & Toadette – Dating**

"I love everything about her!" exclaimed Toad. "I mean, she's my sunshine and everything, you know?"

"At first I thought you would recite a poem, but wow, I was wrong. I expected better praises from you," snapped Toadette. Toad's face turned pale.

"But Toad, I was kidding! I don't need useless praises, I only need you," laughed Toadette as she saw his face.

"So do I," Toad smiled, relieved to see that she was joking.

**Noki & Pianta – Friends and Associates**

"Noki and I are childhood friends and we intend on keeping contact for the rest of our lives, although it can be difficult to see each other at times since we're always traveling over hill and dale," explained Pianta.

Noki smiled honestly. "I'm so glad Pianta made it. He is strong, kind and very nice. He is one of those guys who don't talk much but whose words actually have a meaning. It's so rare nowadays," sighed the air hostess. "Anyway, I'm not here to complain."

"As to Noki, she is a very bright girl, and a person that I never doubted. She really is something, you know. I think everyone would tell you the same thing, if you were to ask them," pointed out Pianta.

**Pauline & Grace - Models and Friends**

"Grace was my first contact out there in the Mushroom Kingdom, when I moved. At first, she was only an acquaintance, though. However, I quickly noticed that we could be friends, because we had the same ideas, the same tastes, we had the same hobbies, except for one, and well, basically, we were in tune,"

"Yeah," agreed Grace. "And it all happened so quickly too! I mean, one day you move in the Mushroom Kingdom and the following day we become friends!" exaggerated Grace.

Pauline laughed. "Yeah! I'm sure my life would have been really different if I hadn't met you and the others. For instance, I wouldn't be a model without your help."

"Oh yeah!" recalled Grace. "You mean that I was the one who introduced you to the boss, right?"

"Yup! You're as bright as ever!" smiled Pauline. "I think there's a link between us : you're the sister I never had."

_What is the best memory you and your loved one share?_

**Birdo & Yoshi – Engaged**

"When we first met," admitted Birdo dreamily. "It was love at first sight. One day complete strangers, and the day after that lovers. It was totally unexpected, but the best thing that ever happened to us."

"Err... Actually when we first met, I was dating another girl. And I kind of felt bad for her when I told her I liked another woman, but as Birdo said, it was love at first sight. I just couldn't help it. I stalked Birdo for a whole month before she agreed to date me. I was quite persistent, as you can see."

Birdo giggled. "I wanted to be desired. Also, it was a good test, to see if you really were interested in me. Let's say that he passed with flying colors..."

**Bootler & Lady Bow - Butler/Mistress**

Lady Bow clapped her hands together. "Bootler, do you remember that fool of Tubba Blubba? Especially the first time I scared him."

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "Why yes, it was quite enjoyable to see you taking your first steps in our world. Ah, I was was so proud of you, my little protégé, when you frightened that coward... It reminded me of the first fear I had given to his ancestor... Good times, good times..."

"Yes, you were always so protective of me, and it was the first time that you let me do something on my own. When I came back, I was surprised to see that you were not waiting for me like you said you would do, but later I understood that you were worried so it made me even more proud to see that I reached your expectations," recalled the Boo princess.

Bootler chuckled. "Once a worrywart, always a worrywart, I would imagine."

**Jojora & Chucklissa – Best friends**

Jojora and Chucklissa both looked at each other and answered at the same time. "When we graduated from our art school!"

"The images of the party we threw back then are still inside my mind, it was awesome!" remembered Jojora.

Chucklissa smiled. "Do you remember the moment when Fawful tried to flirt with Cackletta?"

"You bet I do! He was so drunk he couldn't notice that he was shouting at her face! Do you remember when she punched him?"

"Yeah, she hit him like falcon! Poor Fawful lost some teeth during that incident. Oh well, his loss, I guess."

Jojora shrugged. "He got what he deserved. But still, I will always remember that party."

**Mario & Luigi – Brothers**

"We've got so much good memories that it's kind of hard to say," smiled Luigi, looking at his brother.

Mario rubbed his chin. "Don't you remember our first Double Dash Tournament? It was the first time we were actually racing as a team, and it paid off! We won first place."

"Yeah, but Peach and Daisy were really close behind. But you know, my best memory of us two is when we held that first Mario Party. The mini-games were pretty fun," pointed out Luigi.

Mario laughed. "Yeah, but as I said before, we had a lot of good times together. It's hard for me to pinpoint the best one."

**Toad & Toadette – Dating**

Toad looked at Toadette for two long minutes, saying nothing. All of a sudden, they spoke simultaneously. "Our first date."

Toadette laughed. "It was not the most romantic thing I had seen in my entire life, but for some reason, I really think it was the best thing that Toad could have thought of. I especially liked our long ride on the Ferris Wheel, hands in hands, watching the sunset... Awww, it was really awesome," squealed the mushroom girl.

"You're embarrassing me," blushed Toad.

"Don't be so shy," giggled Toadette.

**Noki & Pianta – Friends & Associates**

"When we traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom. I mean, the first time, when we were kids," Noki added promptly.

"It was very different from our home yet the trip was entertaining. With Noki around, I wasn't so out of my element. We had a lot of fun... I think we should do it again, you know, with our friends."

Noki thought about it. "Yes, but not right after this journey. I'll want to relax a little because honestly, it's really tiring."

"And it wouldn't be really fun after such and adventure, right?" added Pianta.

**Pauline & Grace – Models and Friends**

"The first time we played golf we the others," answered Grace.

Pauline giggled. "I was terrible at this. I mean, I kept swinging my club around like a total newbie and..."

"And you couldn't even send the ball into the cups!" remembered Grace. "But that's not really what matters. What matters, is that Pauline totally aced one hole. A hole that even us, who have been playing golf for years, never managed to finish in one swing. Needless to say, we were pretty amazed at her performance..."

"You weren't the only ones," smiled Pauline.

_Do you think your loved one could be the Mole ?_

**Birdo & Yoshi – Engaged**

Yoshi looked at Birdo intently. "Could she be the Mole? Maybe yes, maybe no... I'm not sure... Could she keep such a secret away from the others? Mmmh... I'll say she could be the Mole, pretending to be oblivious, you know?"

"I don't think that Yoshi could be a Mole... He is to carefree for that kind of things... But, he could surprise me."

**Bootler & Lady Bow – Butler/Mistress**

Lady Bow smiled smugly. "Of course he could be the Mole! Mole is written on his forehead!"

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have said the contrary. And I think Milady would make a great and subtle Mole."

**Jojora & Chucklissa – Best friends**

Chucklissa thought about the question for a few seconds. "No. I don't think she is the Mole. Jojora is way too cool to be the Mole. I don't think she could handle the pressure if she were the Mole."

"Me neither, I don't think you could be a Mole. You wouldn't like it, anyway. You wouldn't like to throw challenges, I know you."

**Mario & Luigi – Brothers**

Luigi tried to read his brother's spirit. "Yeah, Mario is the guy that everybody trusts, so he could be a very good Mole. If I were you, I would vote for him," he winked, at the camera.

Mario looked amused. "Luigi could be a great Mole, he's so clumsy at times, that he would sabotage without knowing it."

**Toad & Toadette – Dating**

"Toadette would definitely be a great Mole, because she's smart and knows how to lie. And unlike most of the boys, girls look before they leap," smiled Toad.

"I can also picture you as the Mole, but I doubt you would do anything too extreme to keep money away from the pot."

**Noki & Pianta – Friends & Associates**

Pianta looked carefully at Noki and nodded. "From my point of view, Noki could be the Mole. Displaying a look of innocence and showing her intelligence, people could think that she is a genuine player while in fact, she is the Mole."

Noki giggled. "If Pianta were a Mole, he would be the leader of the group, I think. He would lead the players to failure, though."

**Pauline & Grace – Models & Friends**

"Pauline wouldn't have to change a thing to her personality to be the Mole. I mean, she's just Pauline."

"Hey what do you mean by that?" Pauline scolded playfully. "I can't say that you're wrong, nor can I say that you're right. Anyway, I don't see you as a Mole. I don't know, but I think that wouldn't be your cup of tea."

…

Once the interview ended, the players were free to do whatever they wished to do with their loved one. While Birdo, Yoshi, Noki and Pianta hanged together in order to know each other a little more, Mario and Luigi talked about the problems that happened in Toadtown during the absence of its great hero. Jojora and Chucklissa made up for lost time and the others were talking about their daily lives.

Pauline, however, wanted to make a big move in this game.

"Grace, come with me... I have to ask 'something' to two persons... But I'll need your help."

Grace was confused, but she decided it was best not to ask questions and promptly followed Pauline. The two women made their way toward the place where Toad was located. He was in deep conversation with Toadette.

"Sorry to intrude into your lovely world, but can I borrow Toad for moment, please?" asked Pauline to Toadette.

Toadette shrugged. "Feel free to do so."

"Thanks!" thanked Pauline. "Now, we only need to find Bootler and we're settled!"

"What are we going to do?" asked Toad, rather annoyed.

"Shush, it's top secret! I'll tell you once we've found Bootler."

The group of three looked for Bootler and ultimately found him resting with Lady Bow near Pipetown's fountain. Once again, Pauline asked if she could speak in private with Bootler, telling the Boo princess it wouldn't last long.

"Okay, here's the plan. Do you remember the clue from last episode? I think it's time for us to claim our due, and by that, I mean to break into Jojora's room, look for the clue, engrave it in our memory and resume our activities," explained the lovely lady.

"And how are we supposed to do it, exactly?" besought Bootler, more concerned than ever.

"Well, Grace is always wearing hairpins, and when I was young, I used to try picking locks with hairpins. I think I still know how to do it, so we'll do it together right now."

"What? You used to pick locks?" inquired a bewildered Bootler. "That is scandalous!"

Pauline put her hand on her forehead. "I wasn't doing it on other people's locks, obviously," she added, rolling her eyes.

Grace was rather excited. "That's awesome! Let's do it!"

"I'm in," nodded Toad. "Thanks for telling us, Pauline. She'll get what she deserves."

Grace, Toad, Bootler and Pauline returned to the hotel and went to Jojora's room. There, Pauline used Grace's hairpin and inserted it in the lock of her door. After three unsuccessful attempts, the lock finally gave in.

"Alright!" cheered Toad.

"Come in, guys!"

The foursome entered Jojora's room and scanned it. The group had seen Jojora put the clue into her journal when she won it, and since her journal was not in her possession at the moment, they knew she had to have let it in her room. Grace found the journal and gave it to the others.

"It was hidden under her pillow," she informed them.

Pauline gave her a high-five. "Awesome Grace!"

"So, do you find it?" asked Toad, excited.

"We may want to hurry, as I suspect that our absence will be noticed by our friends," worried Bootler.

"It's okay, I've written it down!" exclaimed Pauline. "Now, let's put it back at its place... There! Now let's get out of here!"

The foursome rushed out of Jojora's room and ran at full speed to another part of the hotel, where they stopped to regain their breath.

"What a rush of adrenaline!" commented Bootler, chuckling quietly. "I will admit that it was fun, but let us hope that we will not have to resort to such a strategy in the future."

"Yeah, let's say that this time was special. Plus it serves her right," laughed Toad.

Grace looked around and ended the conversation. "Well, we should probably go back to our activities. See ya guys, it was fun!"

…

When it was time to sleep, everyone went to their room to relax and prepare for the next day. Everyone but two people, that is. Jojora, thinking that Mario was trustworthy enough, chose to lead her to her room to show him something.

"Okay," she started, probably pausing to prepare her speech, "I know that I was not particularly nice when I did not show you the clue, but I had my reasons. I wanted to see if people were still willing to align with me, even after I treated the so badly. You're the only one left who is still okay to work with me, so I'll share my clue with you."

"Wait what? Really?" asked a baffled Mario, totally taken aback.

Jojora smiled. "Yeah, really. That way we'll both have an edge over the others. Here, I'll show you." Jojora gave him the piece of paper on which was written the clue.

"Although I am somewhat doing things upside down it does not mean that I do not have my head on my shoulders. I know perfectly what I am doing for I am the Mole, the worst traitor you have ever seen in your entire life. Beware, looks can be deceiving..."

"What does that mean?" questioned Mario.

"I'm err...still trying to figure it out. Two heads are better than one, right?"

Mario looked at her for a moment. "It's a coalition then, right?"

"I won't force you."

"No no, I'm in. I've been waiting for an occasion like this to happen. To the final?"

Jojora nodded. "Yep, to the final."


	14. In the Limelight

**Champ** : Thanks for the review, and you know, your suggestion was really good. ^^ I'm not sure I'll use it for this story though, but it certainly will help me for another one. ^^ Don't worry about the small size of your review, it doesn't really matter how long or short it is. ^^

**Koopa2pa** : Thank you for your review and the fact that you put this story in your favorites ! ^^ Nice suspicions, but unfortunately, I can't tell you if you misplaced people or not, because I am still unsure as to whom will make it to the next round. ^^'' I like reading your suspicions, that's funny. ^^

**Ice Empoleon** : XD for your comment about Noki. Yeah, in the actual show, I also hope that nobody will be able to see their loved ones, because they usually cry afterwards, and well, it's fun to watch *shot*. Okay, I'll really try to separate clearly each idea in the next explanation. Or maybe shorten it, that would be best...but that's not always possible. And yes, that made sense, you want me to have the characters comment on the explanation of the mission while the host is explaining it. ^^ Thank you for the review ! ^^

**DryBonesKing** : Thanks for the review! ^^ I actually thought the relative challenge could have been better, but oh wel... At least it pleased you. Cool suspicions too ! ^^ Maybe I should put up a poll... That could be a good idea... ^^'

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players finished their first mission of Episode Four. While it had begun rather well, the three last players had a bit of trouble -mostly Bootler and Jojora, who failed their challenge- and in the end, less than half of the coins at stake entered the Team Pot. The players were then delighted to see that they would be able to spend time with their loved one, even the ones for whom nothing was quite determined as the players who had to win against their opponents had lost. They chatted and mingled for the rest of the day while Pauline, Toad, Bootler and Grace broke into Jojora's room to look at the clue she had not shared during Episode Three. After the foursome went about their business, Jojora took Mario with her to her room and formed a coalition with him. What will happen next?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

14 : In the Limelight

The sun was shining brightly that morning, as though it had secretly known about the players' next assignment and wanted to show them that it was more knowledgeable than them. Or was it? One of the player obviously knew as well. That person was the Mole... A faker... The rival of the Sun, in some sort of way.

Laughter rang in the hotel's lounge. It was breakfast, Monty Mole, the players and their loved ones were all sharing the same table, discussing slightly loudly and livening up the atmosphere. Mario, always focused when it came to the game, was secretly taking notes about the other players.

**Mario** : I think that now is the time to strike. What I mean by that, is that everyone has his or her guard down, so it will be easier to notice strange behaviors or to pick up on some Freudian slips... Or even small slips, I'm not difficult. I'm still a little confused as to who the Mole is, especially after Jojora showed me the clue. Was it the real one? I'm not sure... The worst thing being that if it's the real clue, then it points to Jojora who was the only one who had it in her hand. But if it was her, why would she give it to me? This game isn't for kids.

Luigi laughed when he looked at Mario. He then wiped his mouth. "I didn't know you loved this game more than me."

Mario groaned and turned his attention to his little brother. "Bro, you know why I'm doing that. I don't want to be the next one eliminated. Besides, I just need to investigate a little more and then I'll find out who's the Mole and come back home proudly and wave my check at you!"

"Really?" smiled Luigi, expectantly.

"No," answered Mario, crushing his brother's hopes. Everyone laughed at Luigi.

"You seem like you're having a great time in this game show, I wish I could play too," pouted Toadette. Birdo nodded.

"Well, it could be better without drama, but I won't complain today since we're all together." Most of the players chuckled lightly at her remark.

"Maybe we'll have our chance too, one day," dreamed Yoshi.

Noki raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean exactly?"

"Err... I was just saying that maybe we'll have an opportunity to participate in a game like this, one day," clarified Yoshi.

**Pauline** : I think this clue helped me figuring out who the Mole was... If I'm not mistaken, then I've been on the right track all along. I feel excited yet anxious at the same time... I only hope that I'm right. For now, I'm going to stick to my beliefs.

"So, what's the program for today?" asked Toad. "Do we get to relax or something?"

"Not exactly," answered Monty Mole. "I have a challenge for you, but it will wait until it's been two o' clock on my watch."

"I thought as much," smiled Bootler, looking content. "Well, if I may excuse myself..."

"I am coming with you," informed Lady Bow, following Bootler to his room.

"See you later guys!" waved Grace.

...

Bootler and Lady Bow went to the former's room, and sat down on the bed. Bootler took his journal out of the drawer of his desk. Lady Bow watched him with amusement in her eyes.

"Well, Bootler? May I know why you had to come to your room?" inquired the pale green ghost.

"Oh, it is rather simple. I need your opinion. Who do you think the Mole is, or who do you think the Mole could be?"

**Bootler** : I decided to ask my lovely princess to help me, because I want to know if with we are in tune or not. Although I am fairly sure that she cannot find out the Mole on her first pick, I think that her opinion matters.

Lady Bow pondered. "If I had to choose someone, at first sight, I would say...Noki. The girl seems a bit secretive and somewhat shady, in my opinion."

Bootler nodded and gave her his journal. He then asked her to read it entirely and to give him her opinions as to who the Mole was afterward. Lady Bow complied and began to read Bootler's journal. Once she finished, she told him who she suspected.

"I must be biased since I read your journal, but after that I'm more leaning toward Jojora, Toad and Birdo. Are we done here?" besought the Boo princess.

"I believe we are," nodded Bootler. "Thank you for your help, milady."

…

**Birdo** : So Noki and I had this genius idea! Well, more Noki than I, but whatever. We're going to use Pianta and Yoshi as informants. Actually, all they're going to do is talk and listen to the other loved ones, but it's great anyway, because we'll gain information on people that usually say nothing about themselves and who, unlike myself, are quite secretive. Like, for example... Bootler and Jojora.

**Noki** : Everyone knows that Birdo and I are tight, so they try not to say much when we are around, afraid that they might lend us a hand in finding out who the Mole is. We are currently trying to find alternate means to get what we want. Hopefully, our strategy works this time.

Noki and Birdo went to see Toad, who was sitting besides Toadette. Toadette was too busy eating, but Toad had long finished and was waiting impatiently for the next challenge. Birdo and Noki entertained him and also asked him things about the game, still waiting for something to happen. That thing happened as Jojora and Mario excused themselves from the table and went to their room. Birdo and Noki immediately winked at Pianta and Yoshi, who nodded in return. Monty Mole caught sight of their silent exchange and smiled lightly.

"Hey Luigi!" greeted Yoshi. "Do you mind if I sit next to you? You seem a little lonely, where's your brother?"

"Wow wow wow! No need to be so hyper! I'll never understand how you do this Yoshi, and I don't mind you, make yourself at home!"

On the other side, Pianta headed toward Chucklissa. "May I sit here?"

"Yeah, do as you wish. Jojora went somewhere with Mario, after all," replied the muscular woman.

"What an unlikely pair," murmured Pianta. Chucklissa chuckled.

"Yeah, well, they are in a coalition, you know... Since yesterday apparently."

Pianta was bewildered. "A coalition, you say? That's strange, I thought they would work solo. I mean, they do look like the type to do so."

"Huh, you think so? Jojora always preferred working with people rather than doing everything on her own," Chucklissa continued to work.

"That's interesting... So, what do you do for a living? We might as well try to get to know each other better, don't you think so?"

**Birdo** : Our plan seemed to work, and I definitely think it will help us later on, since Noki and I mostly suspect Mario and Jojora. Well, we also suspect Pauline Toad and Bootler, but we think the most suspicious ones are the hero and the fairy. Especially the latter since we sabotaged almost all of the challenge. Blatantly, sure, but it was still sabotage.

Meanwhile, Grace and Pauline were reviewing the latter's journal, trying to connect the dots. Grace helped in pointing out what could have been genuine mistakes and possible sabotages.

**Pauline** : Having our loved one around really helps, because we know for sure that they don't want to hurt us and that they're on our side. You can never trust anyone in this game... You have to suspect everyone, even a little, if you want to stay in it.

…

Soon, it was time for the players' next challenge to take place. Monty Mole led the way, as always, while the players and their loved ones followed closely behind him, talking animatedly. They went across Pipetown until they reached the Gates. There, Mario spoke up.

"So I guess it's time for us to make groups, huh?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"Will we play in this challenge as well?" asked Toadette, psyched up at the thought that she could partake in another game.

"That won't be possible," apologized Monty Mole, looking away from her. "Sorry, I don't design this game. Just so you know, though, you will be free to do what you want to do with the other guests. And trust be, you will soon forget this disappointing news." Toadette nodded, unsure of what should be her response to Monty Mole's puzzling claim.

**Toad** : I think it's our first time working together as a team. Usually, we're being separated in groups, and I think it's easier to pinpoint the Mole that way, so that's why I'm not too happy about the fact that we'll be working together. Must be me, though. I heard the others preferred this kind of challenge.

**Mario** : Finally! I've been waiting for a challenge like this! I'll finally be able to watch closely every player of this game. However, I think that it will be a tough challenge so I mustn't lower my guard.

"Let me tell you that we're going to Neon Heights! Isn't that great?" announced Monty Mole.

"You're kidding me, right? That's awesome!" cheered Birdo, clapping her hands together. "I've always wanted to go there!"

Monty Mole smirked. "Well, you'll still have to participate in our next challenge, so maybe it will not be as fun as what you would think. For the loved ones, however, it will be really great. You'll get to spend a good amount of time there, so feel free to do what you want to do!"

The loved ones cheered and laughed at the players' misfortune.

"Oh well," sighed Bootler, "I guess we will have our hands full ourselves."

"Pretty much," nodded Monty Mole. "Now, if you would so kind as to follow me..." The group of fifteen individuals entered Gate number seven and proceeded to the next junction where it took the warp pipe number four.

…

Monty Mole, the loved ones and the players emerged from the warp pipe which connected Neon Heights to Pipetown, looking filled with wonder. Numerous skyscrapers were standing tall before them, colorful flashing lights were emitted from various signs, and overall, Neon Heights seemed like a futuristic town, headquarters of the wealthiest chief executive officers.

The group was in awe, unfortunately, Monty Mole broke their moment of peace. "Well, we must go. I hope you will have a great time together! Meet us back at the hotel at 9:00PM."

"Have fun!" smiled Toad.

The players waved goodbye to the loved ones and followed Monty Mole to the building where the second mission of that episode awaited them. Guided by the host, they entered a purple and shiny building, on top of which a rocket had landed minutes before their arrival. They took their first steps inside the skyscraper giddily, except for the host who was accustomed to such a fancy environment, careful not to disrupt the peace that exuded from the place.

"Fancy place, eh?" grinned Mario. "I've never been here, to be honest with you guys. It's a brand new thing for me too.

Monty Mole chuckled. "Players, I'm happy to tell you that you are inside the world's most famous recording studio!"

**Jojora** : Great! This challenge must deal with music since we're in a recording studio. I love all forms of arts, so I think I've got this one in the bag.

"So, what will we do?" asked Jojora, eager to start the challenge. This change of attitude was noticed by the other players.

**Bootler** : For Jojora to change her way of acting just after having seen Chucklissa was strange as well as pretty ridiculous. One would expect the Mole to be consistent, however, I am not 'one'. Jojora has done suspicious acts of sabotage after suspicious acts of sabotage, she is one of my prime suspects. I will try hard to prevent any sabotage that could occur during this challenge, because I am sure there will be one.

Monty Mole was taken aback. "My, such enthusiasm coming from you, that must be a first!"

"Don't push your luck."

"Errr... Okay! Hmm, well, this challenge is pretty simple. You'll have to record a song in the room ahead of us. You will have to make a videotape, to remix the music of an actual song, not to mention that one of you will obviously have to sing. There will be no room for mistakes as you only have five hours before this challenge ends."

The players were baffled. Mario chimed in. "Hum... You mean that we'll have to do everything by ourselves? I mean, nobody else but the seven of us will be in that room?"

"You are correct, Mario. Well, there are computers that you can use in order to understand how to use certain devices that you will surely need to create your masterpiece, as well as instruction books," answered the host.

Birdo was confused. "How much money is at stake?"

"Thirty thousand coins, if you manage to charm the audience."

"Would it kill you to be, I don't know, a little more precise about that point?" questioned Jojora, irritated.

"Right. Well, once you've done your part, we will broadcast your creation and an audience will rate it afterward. We will put people who likes all kind of music at the bottom of the room, and people like critics at the very top of the same room. There are thirty levels, so if your performance satisfy the people seated at the sixteenth level and if no other level is satisfied, you will win sixteen thousand coins. But, let's say that you satisfied both the thirteenth and the fourteenth levels. Then you will win fourteen thousand coins. Was I clear?" besought Monty Mole.

"So what you're saying is that the different sums of money don't add up between each other," summed up Pauline. Monty Mole nodded.

"Well, I believe it is time to start your challenge. Good luck, players!" encouraged them their host.

**Noki** : I knew we definitely wouldn't be able to win thirty thousand coins, but I wanted to add a great sum of money to the pot. Of course, I didn't know that would be that difficult...

**Birdo** : Going into this challenge, I wasn't confident at all. I mean, just look at us. Do we look like singers or something? Also, I thought that Bootler wouldn't really help, I'm not even sure he knows what music is nowadays... Thinking about it, it would give him a good alibi for the mistakes he could make during the challenge...

"Here we go!" shouted the eager players.

…

**Time Left** : 5:00:00

When the door shut suddenly, the players were engulfed in darkness. Pauline already started to whine. "Great, now we need to find how to light the room. What a great start!"

"Hush!" told her Jojora. "It can't be that far, just touch the wall until you find something that looks like a switch or something." The players wasted some time searching for a nonexistent switch when Pauline realized that maybe it was automatic.

**Bootler** : So much for preventing any sabotage from happening.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Toad, after the light had started shining upon their head. He went to a nearby computer and started it. "We're not really experts on that subject, you know?"

"Thank you for such an interesting comment, Captain Obvious," snapped Jojora. "We're going to make a song, right? Then we obviously need one as well as a singer, that's our top priority. Oh, and I'm not singing."

Toad backed away a little. "No way I'm singing." He was soon followed by a "Ditto" from Mario and a "It would be my pleasure, if I were ten years younger" from Bootler.

Noki smiled nervously. "You know, I have a really tiny voice, so you may want to choose somebody else."

Pauline and Birdo shot annoyed glances at the other five players. "Well, it's between you and me, right? So, let's play rock, paper, scissors. The looser gets to sing."

Birdo groaned, unamused. "I'm not lucky..." After a tie, Pauline beat Birdo at this game, making the pink dinosaur the singer of this challenge.

"Well, that was a waste of time," commented Toad. "Now, I guess we'll do as her majesty said, so what song do you want to sing, Birdo? Oh, and do you have a great voice?"

Birdo had no idea about what she was going to sing. "It all depends on your point of view, I suppose. And I have no idea about my song choice."

Bootler was sitting comfortably on a chair, looking at the debate from afar. "You might want to remember that we do not have all day. Make a good and efficient choice soon or else we will not add the coins to our pot."

**Toad **: This whole time, Bootler was sitting there, doing nothing. I found that a little suspicious, especially after what happened during the second challenge of last episode where I really started to doubt him.

"I may have something to suggests you Birdo. How about _Bad Apple_?" put forward Toad. "I mean, it's not well known, but it's cool, I like it, and at least you will keep your dignity even if you fail epically."

Birdo furrowed her brow. "Are you implying that I will fail? I'll show you!"

"Hmmm... That's really not what I meant. If you failed – not saying that you will - then you would fail a little less singing _Bad Apple_ than, let's say, _Barbie Girl._ Don't you think so?"

Mario agreed and gave Toad a thumb up. "He is right Birdo, don't forget that you don't want to look ridiculous in front of millions of viewers..."

"Thanks for the boost guys," replied a crestfallen Birdo. "Alright, let's look up the lyrics..."

As Birdo went to learn a little more about the lyrics, Pauline noticed that there was a fridge with drinks, located near the back of the room. Mario, Bootler and Jojora went with Birdo, since they had never heard a thing about the song, and Toad chose to read some instruction books to learn how to remaster a music. Noki ferreted around, trying to find something she could use to create a costume for Birdo.

"Mmmh, I like this tune," noted Birdo, pleased with what Toad had recommended her to sing. "Now here comes the hard part of this challenge... I need to memorize the song."

Noki came back and contradicted her. "Well, you don't have to memorize it. We just need to record you singing it. It's not like you will have to sing before the audience."

"Oh yeah, you're right! But what are you doing with this tape measure?"

"I'll try to make you a costume, just like the girl on the screen. We have enough materials to create whatever we want, so I might as well give it a try," shrugged Noki. Birdo was not comfortable with the idea.

"Why would you do that? I don't even look human and my skin is pink. A flashy pink one at that," retorted the pink dinosaur.

"Pauline can make you up, she knows how to do that," Noki pointed out smartly.

**Noki** : Sometimes, I wonder if Birdo really is a genuine player. I trust her...to an extent. We made an alliance and I won't break it but it's difficult to trust a player entirely. Each episode that we both pass makes me wonder if we pass it because we're on the right track, because we're lucky, or because one of us is the Mole and doesn't want the other to go.

Meanwhile, in another part of the room, Mario, Bootler, Jojora, Pauline and Toad were discussing the repartition of the jobs. "Jojora will make the videotape, Toad the remix, Birdo the song, Noki the costume, Pauline will make Birdo up and take care of the lighting, Bootler will create the decor and what will I do?" questioned the plumber dressed in red.

"You could be our supervisor," told him Toad. "You can also help Pauline, Bootler and Noki, they might need help sooner or later."

Mario sighed, clearly not appealed by Toad's suggestion. "I suppose I could, even if I had imagined that my part in the challenge could be a little more important."

"That's clearly not so bad, you'll be doing more than one thing so you should be a little more happy than that," reprimanded him Pauline, before going to where Birdo was sitting with her make-up case.

"Not to mention that I already need help. What am I supposed to draw on those panels?" inquired Bootler. "I am clearly not well-versed in that kind of thing."

**Jojora** : Bootler was slowing us down this whole time... Hard to thing that it was only a lack of knowledge, if you want my point of view.

"Just draw some Japanese-like backgrounds. Temples, things like that. Draw cliché manga things, that doesn't matter. I know how to make a videotape and trust me, I can erase all of the imperfections of your backgrounds. What am saying is-" she was cut in by Mario.

"Do your best." Toad and Bootler thought that Jojora would yell at Mario for interrupting her, but she did not. Instead, she nodded.

"Exactly."

…

**Time Left** : 03:29:52

Birdo had finished to record her song, and was now on scene, trying to lip-synch the song before the cameras that were being directed by Mario. "I'm not sure it's useful to make me do that. I mean, it's not like people will see anything, since I don't really articulate words like you guys," pointed out Birdo.

"Well, we still need you to be before the camera, at the very least. And you can try to make it look like you sing, by moving your head, for example," explained Mario.

**Mario** : I'm actually glad to see that they did not give me a particular job, because that way, I can move freely without being suspected by anyone of spying on them, while I actually take advantage of the situation. Birdo being one of my prime suspects, I'm glad I can observe her.

"Mario, help me!" exclaimed Pauline, in trouble with the spotlights.

"I'm coming!" shouted back the plumber. "Well, sorry Birdo, but you heard her, right?"

"Oh gosh, DIVE JOJORA!" screamed the damsel in red. Jojora, hearing the voice, dived to the side just as one spotlight crashed onto the floor.

Jojora, still shaken, glared at Pauline. "Did you try to kill me or what? Mario, take her place, I don't want to die because of her clumsiness!" she barked bossily.

**Toad** : Not only did Pauline almost hurt Jojora, but she also broke an expensive spotlight, and let me tell you that we could have used it. I was hoping we wouldn't have to pay back the ones in charge of the building.

Bootler had finished one background and was halfway done with the one he was drawing at that moment. He had taken his time for the first one, not wanting to disappoint his teammates. He was located near Noki and Toad, both of them working on their assignments. "Well, so far, there has been no real sabotage from the Mole. This is great," noticed Bootler.

"Oh, do you really think there hasn't been any sabotage yet? I beg to differ," winked Noki, sewing the sleeves of Birdo's costume. So far, she had successfully made the headband of the costume as well as a bow-tie that she would have to put on the dress later on. "Toad, could we hear what you have made so far?"

"Sure, why not? Let me just save it," murmured the mushroom. "There, let's play it." The music escaped from the computer Toad was working on, and went inside the players' ears, charming them. "I'm proud of the result."

Mario went to them. "Hey guys, just to remind you that we have still three hours and thirty minutes left, or something like that. Well, I'm off, so good luck."

Toad stood up too because he had seen Birdo beckoning to him. "Oh well, good luck guys. Birdo needs me." He took his computer and joined Birdo. "So, what do you want?"

"I thought of something. Maybe it would be good if we took the time to hear what we have prepared, so far. I already recorded the song and I think-"

'What do you mean you've already recorded the song? That's a little stupid, since you don't even know what the arrangement will sound like," interrupted her Toad.

"No kidding," retorted Birdo. "I just wanted to show you how I sing. That way, you'll make a music on which I'll actually be able to sing..." Birdo gave him a CD that he put inside his computer.

"I hope that's good," frowned Toad. Birdo also frowned.

"Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it," she rolled her eyes.

Toad put the palm of his hand on his forehead. "Err... I didn't mean it like that, sorry..."

**Birdo** : I doubt Toad's the Mole because of his bluntness. He clearly doesn't think before he speaks... Or at least, let's say that he isn't very careful of his wording, which could prove to be fatal, if he were the Mole.

On the upper level of the room, Mario was telling Pauline that it would be for the best if she switched position with him. "C'mon Pauline... You're not strong enough to carry these things. Let me do this, and you'll handle the camera."

"But I liked this job," whined Pauline.

Mario rolled his eyes, becoming more and more unnerved. "Yeah, yeah, you like it. But the fact is that you almost killed Jojora, so you clearly aren't the person who can handle this position the best, if you know what I mean." He paused and looked at her feet. "And you're still wearing high-heels? You do know that handling the lights involves running, right?"

"Yeah, but it seems funnier than only recording Birdo with the camera," she pouted.

"Too bad for you, but since you suck so much at this job, the others elected me to be in charge of it. And since they also elected me as the supervisor, you have to do as I say," concluded Mario.

**Pauline** : I make a tiny mistake and all of a sudden, Mario comes and makes it look like it's the end of the world. No one was hurt, I just dropped something because it wasn't loosely tied to the edge of the upper level. I wonder if it was the results of the Mole's sabotage...

"Oh well," chuckled the Mole to themselves. "The show has only begun..."

* * *

**Sorry for the rather short chapter, it really seemed longer when I typed it. ^^'''''**

**The next one will definitely be longer (at the same time, it's an execution chapter).**

**I hope there are not too much mistakes, and I also hope that it is readable. (Hopefully I've improved my English since the beginning of this story).**

**I'll put a poll concerning this story on my profile, asking you to vote for the person you think is the Mole. ^^ The results will be revealed next chapter, I guess.**

**Until then, see you all ! ^^**


	15. The Lights Fade Away

**Krisetchers** : Lol you're right! It's as if we were concerting each other before releasing our new chapters. Maybe it's a group effet ? XD Thank you for your nice comment, it really pleased me. ^^ Yeah, this mission was funny to write, especially because for once, the players were all grouped together instead of being on seperate groups, thing which I don't really like (because it's kind of harder to write, I think). I hope you will like this chapter too ! ^^

**Vivalahomestar** : Thanks for the review ! ^^ But you know my cliffhangers aren't really exciting... XD Yeah, the Mario Party Universes are very creative, so I thought I could use them (plus it's easier to think of challenges (even the minigames alone can give inspiration sometimes ^^)).

**Raccoon** : Thanks Racooon ! ^^ I'm glad you like it ! Hopefully, this elimination will help you find out who the Mole is. ^^

**Ice Empoleon** : Don't worry about the lateness of your reviews, I'm not punctual myself, after all... *shot* And don't worry, that's not a rushed review either. You are not even forced to review, so that's already good enough for me. Thank you ! ^^

* * *

Previously on The Mole, the seven remaining players, as well as their loved ones, began to elaborate strategies to gain as much information as possible. Using diverse subterfuges to reach their goal, some players succeed while others, less lucky, failed to realize that they would gain nothing. Afterward, Monty Mole and the players headed to Neon Heights to start the last challenge of episode four. Once there, Monty Mole explained that they would have to make a videotape of a song they would have recorded on their own in the studio. Last time we left them, the players had still three hours and a half left on their timer, and were progressing well. Will that go on, or will the Mole thwart their plans?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

15 : The Lights Fade Away

"Oh well," chuckled the Mole to themselves. "The show has only begun..."

And indeed, it had only begun...

**Time Left** : 02:35:14

"Alright guys! We still have a little more than half of the time we started with!" announced Mario, exercising his role of supervisor. "Noki! Are you done with the costume? We need it to record the videotape, so please finish it as soon as possible!"

"Right on it sir!" laughed Noki heartily.

"Pauline, you're doing pretty good, keep up the good work!" told her Mario.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing a thing!" pointed out the lady wearing red.

"Exactly!" chuckled Mario.

"Oh you! I'm going to kill you someday, Mario, I swear it!" responded Pauline, shaking her head, amused and grinning as she leaned closer to Toad's computer. "So, how do you do to keep track of everything like that? Must be pretty tough, huh?" she asked, looking pretty interested in Toad's work.

Toad shrugged. "Really, it's easy. Once you understand everything, of course."

Pauline frowned. "What do the dots mean?" She pointed at various spots on the computer.

Toad scratched the back of his head. "Well, since we have many instruments in this remix, each one has a corresponding color. Like, you see the violin here? It's blue. So if you followed the blue dots, you'd have the entire score of the violin. Yellow's for the harp, red dots are for the piano, green dots are for the guitar, etcetera."

"Pretty technical. I'll see if I can help someone else, since Mario doesn't want me to handle the lights..."

"You almost crushed Jojora under one of them earlier, no wonder he doesn't want you up there," muttered Toad to himself. Unfortunately, Pauline heard him.

"What was that, exactly?"

"Errrr... Nothing!" Toad exclaimed defensively, waving his hands frantically.

**Pauline** : Since Mario didn't want to let me 'play' with the lights, I had a lot of time to spare, so I took this as an opportunity to spy on the others. The way I see it, it's easier to make someone talk when they are completely absorbed by something. That was great, because they told me little details that would possibly help me figuring out what was sabotage and what was not.

Just as Pauline left to see how Bootler was doing, Birdo, Jojora and Noki all arrived at the same time, Mario closely following afterward.

**Toad** : I knew the music was the central part of the challenge. Actually, no, I lied. I didn't know it until I saw everyone always coming to me and explaining that they needed my help for a thing or another. Had I known that, I would have probably left this spot to someone else. I couldn't even take a break and look at what the others were doing. Come to think of it, it was pretty unnerving.

"What's happening here, why does everyone want to see Toad? Give the poor boy a break, for once," Mario suggested. Jojora shook her head.

"That's not going to happen. Birdo's singing is good, honestly, but I'm not sure this record will associate well with the remix Toad's making. We're not sure we'll have enough time to do everything by the time you finish it," explained Jojora thoroughly.

Toad nodded. "Go ahead, please your ears." He smiled confidently as the two females listened to the music. While Jojora and Birdo were playing the tune that Toad had prepared, Mario and the said mixer turned their attention to Noki.

"Oh well, I wanted to listen to the music too, even though it wasn't the prime reason for which I came. In fact, I need to make adjustments on the costume, so that it will fit Birdo," Noki smiled politely. Toad raised an eyebrow as he noticed something on the costume. It seemed like Mario had noticed too, because he was looking at the same spot Toad was staring at.

"Excuse me Noki, but what is a hole doing in Birdo's costume?" inquired the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was Noki's turn to stare at Mario, as if he had said something stupid.

"It's for her tail... I thought you would have understood..."

"I know she has a tail... Everyone knows that. And I would have understood if you had created a hole in the other side of her dress."

Noki stared blankly at her work. "Oh no... All my hard work going up to smoke... I should have been more careful, sorry guys... What should I do now? I obviously won't have time to make another one." Noki sighed, defeated. Birdo perked up from the computer.

"What's the matter?" she asked, innocently. Mario pointed at the dress. Birdo only laugh."Did you already forget that I'm a fashion designer? I know how to fix stuffs like that, and even if I were not able to do it, Jojora could mask it in the video."

Noki beamed. "Really? Oh, thank goodness!"

**Jojora** : I've always thought Birdo and Noki were fishy, and for a good reason : their obvious sabotages. Okay, I can accept that Pauline did some seriously strange things, but the problem with those two is that whenever one of them makes a mistake, the other one makes up for it. Which means that whenever one of them is sabotaging, the other one comes to her rescue. In the previous season, Lays, the Mole, was always joining forces with Toadico, a very clumsy competitor, and was subtly putting all the blame on her, without being found out as the Mole because he had gained the trust of everyone on the first episodes. I think Birdo and Noki could be the new Lays and Toadico. And if I'm right about this, they will both stay a while, until one of them is finally eliminated, revealing the one that survived as the Mole.

**Mario** : Jojora and I have talked about it during the course of the game, but we both think that the two tight girls should be separated, for our sake. We really think that one of them could be the Mole. Birdo is the most suspicious in my book. Just because she is obvious doesn't mean that she isn't the Mole, if you know what I mean. And look, once again she picked an important role - I may be a little be hypocritical, but whatever – while she could have done better as the costume designer.

"Yep," confirmed Birdo, clapping her hands together. "But first, we need to make adjustments. I'll patch it up later." Soon, the quartet dispatched, leaving Toad alone, in peace. Soon, however, a fleeing Bootler settled in near him.

"Please, would you be so kind as to let me stay here with you? Pauline keeps on asking me all kind of meaningless questions. I much as it pains me to say it, she is getting more and more annoying as the time goes. Maybe Mario should have let her do what she wished to do," noted the old butler.

Toad grinned. "I doubt you'd want to be flattened because of her, though. Aren't I correct?"

"Yes you are," nodded Bootler. "However I would still want to work calmly."

Mario went toward the center of the room and gave the others some precision. "Listen everyone, you're all working really well, but I want everyone to be finished with their own duty at least one hour before our time is up. Sorry to rush you like that, but although we're doing great, I think it's necessary to have more than enough time to assemble everything. You have still a little more than one hour left, so use this time wisely," he looked around in order to know if everyone had heard him. Satisfied he went back to his own work.

"Oh well, sorry Bootler, but I'll take a break," excused himself Toad. Bootler had his mouth agape.

"A break at such a time? You must be mad!"

"No. Besides, I'm almost finished. And natural needs do not wait Bootler!" Toad exclaimed dramatically. "Would you happen to know where the restroom is?"

Bootler looked embarrassed. "Sorry Toad, but as you may already know, this building is not my abode. However, you may want to look at the back of the room, sometimes panels show the way." Toad nodded and left his computer urgently.

…

**Time Left** : 2:00:31

"What have you done?"

"Not to sound obvious or anything, but she simply tripped," informed her Birdo. Jojora was growing more and more impatient by the minute.

"I know that, genius!" she spat venomously. "I know what she did, she screwed us up!"

"Thank you so much for worrying about me, Jojora, it's really nice of you." Birdo helped Noki to stand up. "It's not my fault that I tripped!"

"Of course it's not your fault. Is it mine, perhaps?" questioned the blue fairy. "Or maybe it was the work of an invisible force?" She looked at the damages. "Here's to hope that you didn't destroy Toad's work."

**Bootler** : For Noki to fall right on Toad's computer was odd, if you want my point of view. She had one chance in a million to trip on that exact spot when Toad was away, so I would hardly call that a coincidence, but rather a deliberate act of sabotage. The truth is that everyone seems to sabotage, whether they are a genuine player or the Mole, so it is hard to determine what looks like a sabotage and what does not look like a sabotage.

At that very moment, Toad opened the back door and hurried toward his computer, only to find a little group of shouting people. Bootler noticed him, and explained him what the problem was. "Oh, by the way, where were you gone? I was beginning to think that you had been abducted by someone," continued Bootler, smiling slyly.

Toad smiled back, embarrassed. "I kind of lost my way... And I wasted a lot of time searching for the bathroom. Thankfully a kind lady helped me to find my way in this maze."

**Bootler** : As I said earlier, many people sabotage, but others do suspicious things, just like Toad did. Wasting thirty minutes in a challenge is hardly something that one should disregard.

Toad frowned. Since everyone was currently doing nothing else but arguing, they were close enough to notice that something was wrong. Pauline raised an eyebrow. "Something's wrong?"

"You can say that again," replied Toad, rolling his eyes. "I can't find the stupid remix I was working on!"

"What?" stressed Jojora. "I think I heard wrong, what did you say exactly?"

Toad ignored her. "Who tampered with my work? Oh yeah, I forgot something. Nobody will say that they did, because it's obviously the Mole's work! My freaking remix disappeared from the computer!"

"WHAT?" shouted everyone in the room, but Toad.

**Birdo** : That must be the most important sabotage yet! No way I was going to forget it. This was obviously the work of the Mole!

"Well, huh... Maybe that's not the Mole? Maybe it's because I fell and dragged the computer down with me," tried Noki, very quietly.

**Noki**: I knew everyone was likely to put all the blame on me, so I thought that maybe I would be less 'lynched' if I admitted my mistake.

"Yeah, that's probably you, Mole!" Jojora barked accusingly. Mario shook his head angrily.

"Come on Jojora, don't lash out at her!" reprimanded her the hero. "We've got no proof it's her fault."

"I'm an eyewitness!" roared back the blue fairy.

**Pauline** : That was utter chaos. Everyone was accusing everyone, and in the end, we were wasting time. Of course, I said nothing. Had I done it, things wouldn't have changed anyway, because of the little light incident... I preferred to stay quiet and avoid an argument.

"I sincerely doubt it's because of Noki's fall that my music vanished. Guys, you know how to use a computer, and you know how it works, right? Then, you must understand that someone erased the remix from the computer, and then emptied the trash can to get rid of it. I'm sure that even Bootler knows that, meaning that everyone could be the culprit. You would only need to act quickly while nobody looks at you to get away with it," justified Toad.

**Toad** : To be honest, at that point of the game I had one suspect : Pauline. She asked me plenty of things about what I was doing, and I suspect that she actually wanted to know where I was saving the remix to get rid of it easily.

Pauline tossed her head. "So much for holding someone responsible. Right, Jojora?" Jojora glared at her.

"Shut up you, I'm pretty sure it could have been your doing. Heck, I'd even say that you could have done it unknowingly," she mocked.

"Yikes, catfight!" commented Toad. "Where's the popcorn?" he asked sarcastically. Bootler put a hand to his forehead.

"We need to focus!" he ordered, louder than usual.

Mario gave him a thumb up and yelled. "Shut up! We'll discuss who's the culprit after we're done with this challenge! For now, we'll just have to work harder than before. Toad! Can you do it again?"

"I'm afraid I can't... There's no way it will be finished in an hour, I'm sorry," apologized the boy.

Mario mused. "Well, you don't have to redo it the same way. You can always simplify the music. Do you think it could be doable?"

Toad put his hand to his chin. "Yes but... That will be really simple, with like, only one instrument."

"Well... I'm not saying that this is perfect, but we'll have to work with that. Go everyone, we wasted a lot of time!"

**Mario** : At this point of the challenge, I knew that we wouldn't earn many coins. We were all solely focused on the sabotage that had just happened.

…

**Time Left** : 00:58:41

As the supervisor, Mario went at the center of the room and told everyone to stop what they were doing. They all complied. "Okay guys, we have an hour left, it's time to assemble everything. Toad, I hope that you managed to recreate the music?" Toad's head movement was not energetic.

"Yep, with only one instrument, though..."

"Good. Birdo, go record your song. Oh, and I see that the costume is perfect, nice work, Birdo." Birdo winked and went with Toad, to record the song. During that time, Bootler placed the three background he had painted on the scene where Birdo would perform. Pauline also made some last minute changes while Jojora stood up beside her, ready to give some directives when the time would arrive. As to Mario, he went to the upper level to take care of the lights.

Five minutes after that, Birdo and Toad went out of the room, wearing content smiles on their face. "It went really good," related Birdo.

"Yup," agreed Toad. "Despite our mishaps, I think we'll win a fair amount of money."

"What do we do now?" asked Pauline. "I've waited so long to actually do something..."

"The song sounds like it's very classic," noted Jojora. "So I think we shouldn't do a videotape that is very elaborated. I won't use many effects and I suppose we could film simply."

Everyone got to work : Pauline was rotating around the scene to take different angles of Birdo with the camera, Mario was playing around with the lights and Jojora was giving orders to everyone. Toad, Pauline, Noki and Bootler all moved around so that Birdo would be able to look at the lyrics while lip-synching.

"Everything is going great! We might end this challenge on a positive note, after all," sang Birdo.

"Jojora, we're counting on you!" encouraged her Mario.

"Yeah, as much as I hate it," whispered Pauline to Noki, who giggled in response.

"Well, if that Beaver crap managed to be a hit, then we should be able to score some points too," pointed out Toad, smartly. Everyone groaned at the mention of the Beaver.

"Toad, you could have shut up, seriously. Don't mention that name in public, it's disgusting."

"Sorry," whimpered the mushroom.

…

**Time Left** : 00:03:16

"Well, I believe we are done here. Shall we inform Monty Mole that we are finished?" inquired Bootler, moving closer to the door they had used to enter the room, almost five hours ago.

"We can use a short break," told him Toad. "I'm totally washed out!"

"Yes a break can't hurt us," agreed Noki. "This challenge was particularly difficult."

"Yeah, and apparently it will be harder from here on," informed them Mario.

Noki sighed. "One of us won't be lucky enough to make it to the next round, though... I don't look forward the execution..."

"Well, I am," retorted Jojora. "I'd rather think about it right now. That way, I'll have more time to recollect my thoughts on who's possibly the Mole."

"Easy for you to say, especially if you're the Mole," accused her Birdo. "But I don't want to start another argument."

"Why are we talking about the quiz at such a time? The challenge isn't over yet, everything could happen," mused Mario.

All of a sudden, the door opened and Monty Mole walked in, grinning from ear to ear. A few second later, the speedy mole made it to where the others were standing. "Good, you managed to create your own song!" smiled Monty Mole with glee. "Then, we shall proceed to the next part of the challenge, let's go!"

The players followed the host through the numerous corridors, sometimes waiting for a player who was lagging behind, and eventually reached a room where many people were waiting, seated. Monty Mole turned to the players, feeling rather excited. "Well, in a few minutes, you will know how much money you won. The people seated in this room have already seen the original videotape, so it's your time to impress them. I heard that your singer was Birdo-"

"Were you spying on us this whole time?" joked Pauline heartily. Jojora rolled her eyes.

"So maybe she will agree to sing in live, to score extra points," Monty Mole carried on. Birdo was stunned.

"The thing is that I don't know the lyrics of the song, someone told me that I wasn't forced to learn them, so I kind of never really paid attention to them."

"My, that is quite embarrassing," commented Bootler. "May we have the pleasure to know who told you that?"

"Yeah, it was her," Birdo pointed her finger toward Jojora, putting all the blame on her. Needless to say that Jojora was flabbergasted. She received strange stares.

**Jojora** : I know for a fact that I never said such foolish things, meaning that Birdo lied. She could have lied to protect someone or maybe she lied to make me look suspicious because she's the Mole.

**Birdo**: Revenge is a dish best served cold!

"Oh well, that's a shame," Monty Mole shook his head. "I really think it could have increased your gains."

Mario buried his head into his heads. "Looks like we're not really good as a team..." The players showed various forms of agreeing and sat down in defeat. They waited almost five long minutes before seeing a level stand up. Monty Mole looked up from his position and nodded. "Out of thirty thousand coins, you won six thousand, which isn't really good."

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 30 000 – 24 000 = 6 000

Team Pot : 99 000 coins

"It would have been perfect without that stupid Mole," complained Toad. "They totally destroyed all of our efforts!"

"Well, from what I've seen, more than one person screwed up during that challenge, so...who's the Mole? Or maybe the Mole didn't even strike during that challenge. I'll leave you at your reflections. We brought back all of your loved ones here, so feel free to hang out with them. Just so you know, there was a change of plan. We will meet back at this hotel at nine o' clock sharp. Don't be late, consequences could be disastrous..." Monty Mole winked at them and vanished at the corner of a corridor.

Noki and Birdo were the first ones to go after him. They joined Pianta and Yoshi and quickly escaped the futuristic building, in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming quiz. Soon, the others followed.

**Bootler** : At this stage of the game, it has become clear that some people are working with others to discover the identity of the Mole. We are all quite sure that Noki and Birdo are in a coalition, and we think that Mario and Jojora also work together, although we are not one hundred percent sure they form a coalition, which leaves Pauline, Toad and I to fend off for ourselves. The three of us do not form a coalition, but we do not mind helping each other, knowing that one of us could very well be the Mole.

…

"Oh gosh, I'm starving!" exclaimed Birdo suddenly, patting her stomach. "It's a little early, but maybe we could all go eat together? What do you think guys?" Yoshi gave her a kiss on the cheek and said that he was okay. Noki and Pianta were also a little hungry, so they did not object.

"I know a famous restaurant," informed them Pianta. "I've only eaten there once in my whole life, but the food was exquisite. Would you mind if I led the way?"

"Of course not!" responded Birdo quickly. "We'd be happy to follow you!"

"It's not too far away, so we can talk business there."

"Sure, I don't mind!" replied Birdo excitedly, walking besides Pianta. Noki and Yoshi looked at each other for a moment.

"Is she always like that?" asked Noki. Yoshi laughed.

"Yeah, and that's why I love her. She's really something, you know?"

"Yes, I would know," giggled Noki in return. "Birdo is... Well, Birdo is Birdo, to put it simply." After that, the pair hurried up and caught up with Birdo and Pianta who were so deep in conversation that they had totally forgotten about Yoshi and Noki.

Soon, the quartet found the restaurant Pianta had been talking about. They went inside, and to their delight a waitress came to them. She had heart-shaped spots on her head. "Hi, can I help you?" she smiled cutely.

"Yeah, we'd like a table for four. Is that possible?" besought Yoshi.

"Sure!" exclaimed the daydreaming waitress, not totally hearing what Yoshi had asked her. "I'll get the menus for you!"

"So... What did you find?" asked Noki.

"Could you be a little more precise? Because we learned many things about the players thanks to the other loved ones."

"Yeah," confirmed Yoshi, laughing. "Pianta totally sweet-talked Chucklissa, it was funny to watch. Of course, there was someone who wasn't very talkative..."

"Who was that?"

"The Boo princess. She wouldn't say a thing about Bootler, so we gave up after a few tries. She was very clever and allusive when she answered our questions, so we basically have nothing on Bootler," explained a pained Yoshi.

"We should have seen it coming, we weren't really inconspicuous ourselves. But still, she saw right through us," sighed Pianta.

**Noki** : Maybe Lady Bow was informed that Bootler was the Mole, thus she would keep her mouth shut.

…

Luigi, Mario, followed by Jojora and Chucklissa, were heading to a souvenir shop, discussing the recent events of the day. Luigi was particularly interested in what his brother was telling him. "Why do you mean by 'Today the Mole struck hard'?"

"Well," Mario started, looking at a little figurine representing Neon Heights, "We won six thousand coins out of thirty thousand coins, so that's explicit."

"The worst part being that we don't know who could have done it," Jojora commented, rolling her eyes as she remembered the scene.

"We know that everyone could have potentially erased the data from Toad's computer, but we still need to determine who did it," corrected Mario.

Chucklissa joined the conversation. "Maybe you should review your journal before the quiz, we still have time."

Jojora shook her head. "Nah, I don't want to think about the upcoming execution right now. I'd rather relax a little..." She started to take a few steps forward, to leave the shop they were in, but suddenly turned around. "You're right Mario, everyone could have done it, included Toad," she realized.

Mario raised an eyebrow. "I sincerely doubt that Toad would destroy his own work, he seemed pretty perturbed too. However I could see him sneaking to a computer to erase the music someone else created."

**Jojora** : It's very unlikely that Toad did that, but there's still a very remote chance that he is the culprit responsible for this sabotage.

"So," started an hesitating Luigi. "On whom will you base the answers of your quiz?"

Mario looked uneasy, and so did Jojora. "We don't have a real plan right now," answered Mario, touching the tip of his cap. "We're thinking about basing our answers on several persons, like..."

"Like Birdo and Noki, for example. Especially Birdo. I'm one hundred percent sure that I did not tell Noki not to learn her song," finished Jojora.

**Mario** : Am I in a coalition with the Mole? I don't know... I truly hope I'm not, otherwise I'm pretty much a goner...

…

Bootler, Pauline, Toad and their loved ones were roaming in the busy streets of Neon Heights, when they realized that they were situated before a movie theater that proposed them to see a new horror movie. Toad looked at the movie's title.

"_Resident Koopa_, that seems fun! Do you guys want to see it?" asked Toad eagerly.

Pauline made a face. "Mmmh Toad, I'd rather not watch that kind of thing before we go to our fourth execution, if you know what I mean. I think we should recollect our thoughts on who the Mole is."

"Yeah but... Look, Toadette, Grace and Lady Bow will probably be bored while we discuss that kind of thing. Also, we've got a lot of time before us, so we could watch the film, and then talk about our suspicions," retorted the mushroom.

**Toad** : Pauline is my suspect and I'm pretty confident that she's the Mole, so why would I bother talking to her about my suspicions when I know that I'm voting for her anyway? That would be a waste of time!

"Toad," started Bootler, "I doubt that everyone here wants to watch this movie which is kind of violent. Or do they?" he added, raising an eyebrow.

"If I were to watch a movie it would most certainly not be this one," confirmed Lady Bow. "Why would you want to go to a movie theater of all place anyway? There are plenty of things to see here. Things which are definitely better than a gory film..."

Grace shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not in that kind of stuff myself..."

"Okay, fine, we won't go," sighed Toad, exasperated. "Where do we go then? I assume you guys have some kind of idea, right?"

Toadette nodded. "I say we just wander around town. I mean, we'll certainly need to eat before we meet up with Monty Mole, so we won't have much more time for sightseeing." She paused a moment. "You know, that's strange!"

"What's strange?" inquired Pauline.

"Well, this feeling... I feel like I've already wandered around a town like this, with people that I didn't know, in an alternate life. Like, a feeling of deja-vu."

Bootler chuckled. "It happens to me all the time. Of course, maybe those are not feelings..." Grace stared at him for a moment and put her hand on her forehead when she realized what he meant. Then, she laughed.

"Well then, where shall we go?" questioned Lady Bow.

…

Monty Mole was waiting for the players and their loved ones to arrive in the porch of the building the players had left only hours ago. A satisfied smile graced his lips as he greeted them another time. "Welcome back, players! I hope that you had a lot of fun! However, now comes the less funny part of the day. You guys will take your fourth quiz in a few minutes and I truly hope that you are all prepared for what will come as you could seal your fate tonight. Birdo, who won a plus one during the relatives challenge, will have an edge. I just wanted you all to remember that." He waited a minute and looked at the relatives. "Well, I'm sorry, but you can't help your loved one, so feel free to relax on those soft couches fr the time being."

The players wished each other luck.

"Birdo, since you're the only one who has an advantage, shall you begin?" Birdo nodded and followed the host to a dark room, on the right.

…

_1. Did the Mole obtain an advantage during this episode?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_2. During the challenge Family Problems, did the Mole break the rules?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_-The Mole did not partake in this challenge_

**Birdo** : I'm confident that I'm staying for another round, especially if the questions are all as easy as this one, I obviously know that I'm not the Mole, so the Mole did not win an advantage. I'm a bit worried about Noki, since she doesn't have a plus one, but all in all, I think she will pull through. I'm more and more anxious as the time goes because I still have no idea as to who the Mole is...

_3. During the challenge Family Problems, did the Mole manage to win against the loved one he had to beat to win money?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_-The Mole did not partake in this challenge_

**Mario** : Well, the Mole didn't necessarily have to lose this challenge, but then again, losing it wouldn't have prevented the loved one they had to beat to see their relative. The Mole knows everything, so they could have sabotaged without feeling guilty at all.

_4. During the challenge Family Problems, who was the Mole up against?_

_-Luigi_

_-Lady Bow_

_-Grace_

_-Toadette_

_-Pianta_

_-Chucklissa_

_-The Mole did not partake in this challenge_

**Jojora** : It was very strange of Bootler to just say nothing during his part of the challenge. Lady Bow even said that only someone who knew how to sweet talk people could win it... Wasn't it, obvious?

_5. Which relation does the Mole have with their loved one?_

_-Engaged_

_-Butler/Mistress_

_-Best Friends_

_-Brothers_

_-Dating_

_-Friends and Associates_

_-Models and Friends_

**Noki** : Jojora entered the game to win it. She fooled us since day one, making us think she was nothing but a selfish and overall disgusting person. But Chucklissa told us that it was all a facade...

_6. Do the Mole's relative think their loved one is the Mole?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_7. During the challenge Under the Spotlight, to which task the Mole was originally assigned?_

_-Singing_

_-Creating a videotape_

_-Creating decors_

_-Creating a musical arrangement_

_-Directing everyone_

_-Taking care of the lights_

_-Sewing a costume_

**Bootler** : Luigi said that Mario could be the Mole. That struck me as odd, because Mario's path into the game has been quite smooth, so far. Maybe the Mole held back for a while? In that case, Mario could be the Mole...

_8. What is the Mole's Journal Number?_

_-1_

_-2_

_-3_

_-4_

_-5_

_-6_

_-8_

**Toad** : Oh my god, that really sucks! I didn't think they would be tricky enough to use questions that they already asked in previous episodes, except for the last one which is always the same!

_9. What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Pauline** : Everyone tends to forget Toad because of his natural ability to befriend people and to make them feel at ease. While I do feel the same as everyone about him, I'm still a bit cautious... I wouldn't want to be eliminated so soon now, would I?

_10. Who is the Mole?_

_-Mario_

_-Bootler_

_-Toad_

_-Jojora_

_-Pauline_

_-Noki_

_-Birdo_

…

The players and Monty Mole made their way to the very top of the building they were in, where an extra seven chairs had been added for the comfort of the relatives who would return to their home after that execution.

Arriving on the roof, the players heard the sound of a piano, which was playing the Mole's theme. It produced a strange music and the players could not help but notice this change.

"Well, that's a nice change, music always ease one's emotions," noted Noki, smiling.

"Mmmh, that sounds like polka," pointed out Mario. Jojora scoffed.

"Bah, I don't like it."

Monty Mole finished to settle the installation and waddled toward his chair. From behind the computer he had always used. "I assume that you all know what is going to happen tonight. Tonight, one of you will be executed. Nobody has an exemption, so everyone is at risk. I hope you are all prepared for what is to come. Now, will I have some volunteers? Who wants to go first?"

A tiny hand rose up from the crowd and Toad walked briskly toward the screen. He faced it with anticipation.

"Toad."

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Toadette smiled to him and he returned the gesture. Right after he sat back at his place, another hand shot up.

"Bootler," announced the host in a dramatic way.

Bootler floated calmly to the screen, feeling confident.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"I'll go next," told Jojora to Monty Mole. She clenched her fists as she went to where she was supposed to go.

"Jojora."

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Nobody else volunteered, Monty Mole decided to call them randomly. "Pauline."

The young woman made her way to the screen and awaited her results with a certain anxiety.

**P-A-U-L-I-N-E**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED **

"Darn!" mumbled Pauline, under her breath. Grace looked really sorry for her friend and did not know what to tell her. "Oh well, I had a good time, good luck everyone, find the Mole for me!"

The two models went toward Monty Mole, who was carrying Pauline's luggage and waved a last time at the other ten persons who were still in the room. Some players were baffled, especially Toad. "Wow... I can't believe she wasn't the Mole... I think I'm very fortunate to remain here, with you all... I definitely need to change my plans, now that she's gone..."

Noki shook her head strongly. "I thought that with her natural nonchalance she could be the Mole, but now I'm afraid that I was wrong. It's too bad that she had to go tonight, though, she was very entertaining."

"Not to be blunt or anything but I'm glad that she's gone, since she was always sabotaging – or rather screwing up – during every challenge. What I mean, is that her departure will do me good because I can cross off her name of my Mole list," commented Jojora smartly.

"I refused to make an alliance with her because I thought she could be the Mole!" laughed Mario. "But you know, that's strange... How did she get eliminated? Usually, the suspected ones stay a while, so I can't shake the feeling that somehow, the Mole was involved in her execution. More involved than the other times..."

"It may be a possibility," concluded Bootler. "A very likely possibility..."

…

Monty Mole and the two girls did not have to go that far to find the vehicle that would let them go back to their home, in the Mushroom Kingdom. The rocket situated on top of the purple building would serve that purpose. Pauline and Grace looked at their ride, astonishment readable on their faces, and stared at Monty Mole as if he was crazy, but the host assured them it was safe.

"Well Pauline, it's too bad that a great player like you met her demise so soon... I can only hope that you're not disappointed about your experience," Monty Mole smiled politely.

"Are you kidding me? It was awesome! Really, every second of it was enjoyable! I really liked it and yeah, I really hoped I could have made it further into the game but I already beat three other people, so that's not that bad if you want my opinion," replied Pauline, grinning from ear to ear.

"Which moment of the game will you engrave in your memory?"

"Oh, you know which one, don't you?" she answered slyly, giving him a mischievous smile. "I'll give you a clue, it happened yesterday. As for the challenges... The last one seemed cool but I couldn't really do a thing, so I'll say the second one, even though we lost it, because I found the solution before the others."

"Well it's time to say goodbye. We'll miss you Pauline. Take care!"

"You too!" smiled the fallen player. Grace nodded politely to Monty Mole and went inside the rocket, Pauline following suit immediately. Both females waved to the host as their strange vehicle took off.

The six remaining players had made it to the halfway point of the game. One of them having not as much difficulties as the other ones. This one was the Mole. As they watched the rocket depart, they could not help but put on a wistful face, thinking deeply about the next part of "The Mole : Festive Saboteur!".

* * *

**Halfway point ! Yay ! If only my French Mole fiction could progress that way... DX**

**Well, not much to say... There was only two votes in the poll, so errr... That's not much of a poll, but whatever XD. Here are the results :**

**With 50% of votes against them... Pauline and Noki are the ones you thought were the Mole.**

**Until next time, and thank you for your time ! ^^**


	16. Chance Time !

**Raccoon** : Thanks for your review ! ^^ I actually listed Birdo and Donkey Kong randomly, because there aren't many stories in which they are put as the main characters. ^^' Do you think I should remove their names ?

**Arrowson** : Thanks for your comment, I hope you'll like the rest of the story as well ! ^^

**Ice Empoleon** : Actually, I thought there would be five chapters... But I kind of didn't know what to write, also, they had already played in two missions, so I didn't want them to have the possibility to win more money (my planning skills are so bad that I don't even know how much money the will have the possibility to have won at the end of the game). Anyway, I really like your comments, they are very complete, I think. ^^ Thank you, once again. And actually, only two persons voted for the Mole poll. Pauline and Noki both got one vote. ^^''''

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the players had to make a videotape of a song that Birdo would have to sing. While they were doing great, some major sabotage occurred, the most important one so far : someone deleted the data of the music that Toad had created, leaving the little group in trouble. Ultimately, they only earned six thousand coins, meaning that the team pot now stands at ninety nine thousand coins. After their pitiful performance, the players, accompanied by their loved ones, discussed strategy and exchanged information because the fourth quiz was coming soon. This time, another unlucky player got the boot : Pauline was the fourth victim of the Mole, leaving some players speechless. Only five genuine players remain, who will be eliminated next?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

16 : Chance Time!

That morning, only six players woke up and went out of their room. The loved ones had been transported to their home, and with Pauline gone, their number was cut short. The players had now all made it past the halfway point and were quite satisfied with themselves, although one of them was not striving for victory. That individual was the mysterious Mole who was responsible of the departure of Kooper, Donkey, Flurrie and Pauline. Henceforth, it is crucial for them to pay attention to everything, including the least significant detail.

**Jojora** : Making it to the final six isn't an achievement for me. I'm going all the way to the final, if everything goes as planned. As far as I know, the game's going pretty smoothly for me, I see no reason why that would change.

**Toad** : Pauline is gone, meaning that all this time I was relying on my luck. I'm glad I made it to another round, but I really need to step up my game. Players like Jojora and Bootler won't wait for me to catch up on them after all.

**Noki** : Sometimes, I think that I stole the spot of some players... Like Flurrie, for example... I can't stop to think that maybe there is a possibility that she knew that I was going home and that she saved me from my fate. I have no idea as to who the Mole can be... It's episode five, you would think that I have at least one tiny idea, but I don't. I'm really desperate right now... If only there was an efficient way to make it to the end with Birdo and the Mole, that would be perfect.

**Mario** : Well, Pauline's gone. I'll miss her, sure, but it's the game. Anyone could have been eliminated. And I'd rather have Pauline eliminated than Birdo, who is my prime suspect, Jojora, who is my coalition partner, or myself. To be honest, I'm still shaky about Birdo. I don't really find her consistent. One time she will do incredible things, and the other time she will screw up pretty badly, which is kind of annoying because you can't read her.

**Birdo** : Awesome, I made it to episode five! Really, I'm glad I'm still here today, this game is so interesting! Some players are more suspicious than others, but I'm still not picking a Mole. I think that that would be suicide at this point of the game. I'd rather continue into the game thanks to the mistakes of the others than going home because of my mistakes.

**Bootler** : I now have a vague idea as to who the Mole can be, but I am not saying anything. From now on, I will take my time during the quizzes, because it is rather useless to answer them promptly if you forget some things in the process. That is my opinion and I am sure that my fellow competitors do not think the same, but as the saying goes, 'slow and steady wins the race'. I will see for myself if that is true.

That morning, the players were told to stay in the hotel until Monty Mole arrived, so nothing of a real importance was going on in the lounge. The players were all relaxed and delighted to see that they were still in the game, and although Pauline's presence was missed, they were not dwelling on the past.

Mario was reviewing his journal and jotting down his feelings on the recent elimination when he heard the bang of a door. He jolted up from his position and smiled, noticing that the host was standing in the half-opened door. "Hello Monty! How are you?" he greeted warmly.

"Greetings everyone!" exclaimed Monty Mole. "Well, first of all, I wanted to congratulate you for having made it this far into the game. You will now enter the second half of the game, and let me tell you that it will be even more difficult than before. The first four episodes were a walk in the park compared to this."

"Yeah, I concur," agreed Jojora. "Seriously I thought this game would be a little more challenging. But I guess it's still okay."

"I'm glad that you enjoy it in your own way, Jojora. Anyway, here's your first mini-challenge which will have an influence on who will make it to the next episode. Yes, your heard me right, this mini-challenge will involve...an exemption," the host announced dramatically.

"Do you mean, there's an exemption at stake?" questioned Noki, concerned by the sudden change of attitude of her comrades.

"Yes, that is exactly what I meant. You will have thirty minutes to try to win twenty thousand coins and one of the three exemptions of this episode. That does sound attractive, doesn't it?" he asked slyly.

"Okay, give us the rules please, I kind of want to play," demanded Birdo in an excited tone.

Toad nodded slowly, skeptical. "Yeah, I'm kind of interested myself...even if something tells me that I won't like your explanation."

"I called this challenge 'Exemption Roulette'. You will have half an hour to tell me the names of four players. At the end of the episode, I will spin a wheel, and whoever is designated by the wheel will win the exemption. If you can reach a decision before your time limit is over, twenty thousand coins will be added to your pot. However, if you do not succeed in reaching a decision, there will be no money and no exemption. The six of you must agree on a list of four persons, otherwise you lose. Was I clear enough?" questioned the host.

"Yes, very clear," confirmed Bootler, anxious about that challenge. Everyone eyed each other warily, not knowing how they would proceed.

Monty Mole nodded to himself. "You have thirty minutes, starting now."

Immediately Mario spoke up. "Do we really want to risk doing this challenge? An exemption is vital at this point of the game, and I'm not really sure Lady Luck's on everyone's side."

**Birdo** : Right after the challenge had begun, Mario tried to convince us that the risk wasn't worth it and that we shouldn't take our chance since it all comes down to who's the most lucky in the end. He did have a point, but what about the twenty thousand coins? That's not something you can overlook so easily.

"Hello Mario, twenty thousand coins at stake!" waved Toad, as if he was trying to make Mario realize what he had just said. "Just so you know, I won't hesitate to throw the challenge if you don't choose me to be one of the four contestants that will possibly win the exemption."

"Wait, what?" asked Jojora suspiciously.

"Is he trying to pull a Jojora?" inquired Birdo, making everyone laugh. Toad frowned.

"I'm dead serious. When Monty Mole will ask us who we want to nominate to have a chance at winning an exemption, I will say my name first, so you will be forced to follow suit or we'll lose. That's as simple as that. Sorry guys, but I need to secure my spot for the next round," apologized Toad, a hint of regret in his voice.

"And they say I'm forceful," stressed Jojora, shrugging. "You already sacrificed twenty thousand coins for your previous exemption, isn't that enough?"

"So what? It was during episode three. We're now at episode five. Do the maths, if I took an exemption back then, I'll obviously try to take one now too!" retorted the mushroom. "And don't tell me that you didn't intend to do the same, because everyone will know that you're lying."

"I was actually going to make a list. So far, Mario, Bootler and Toad won an exemption. Birdo won a plus one. And Noki and I won nothing. I think we both deserve one spot on the list," explained Jojora, cautious of the wording of her sentence.

"Huh? You don't deserve anything. Noki does, but you don't," cut in Birdo. "You sabotaged more missions than anyone here, so you shouldn't deserve a thing."

"Oh? That's funny coming from your mouth. As far as I know, you were the one that made us lose money last episode when you sacrificed money for your plus one and you were the one that didn't learn the lyrics of the song even though you had tons of time to do it!" snapped Jojora.

"Hmm, you know, I'd be glad to accept your offer, Jojora," piped in Noki. "Thank you for your concern about my safety!" she added, cunningly. "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Well... As much as it kills me to say that, you did help us many times in the past, so I guess we could let you have a chance," answered Mario.

**Bootler** : This challenge was definitely a difficult one, because it was evident, in my eyes, that nobody wanted to pass on such an opportunity. I also found Toad rather forceful. His actions during that challenge had me raise an eyebrow. Thankfully, Jojora did not push the point and let him do what he wanted.

"So, there are two other spots, and so little time left," remarked Noki. "You might want to hurry up a little, I'll agree with whatever choice you guys will make."

"Fine!" gave in Jojora. "You guys leave me with no choice. I was going to be nice for once, but I guess that you're way too stubborn to see my point, so I'll make a deal with you. It's simple, really. I will do like Noki and agree with whatever decision you all make. But, should my name be absent of your list, I guarantee you that the next exemption will be mine, even if it costs fifty thousand coins to the team. However, if you are inclined to let my name figure on that little list of yours, I guarantee you that I will not take any other exemption during this round. So... What do you guys think?"

**Noki** : Jojora is an ambiguous person. By that, I mean that she can be extremely devious at times as well as a formidable opponent. Now, the question is : is she the Mole, or an extremely dangerous yet genuine player? I would have to say that, although my heart is torn between the two, the first possibility is more likely to be true...

"One spot left and three of us remain," sighed Mario. Bootler was not saying a thing.

"What's happening Bootler? Did you lose your tongue or something?" teased him Birdo.

Bootler shook his head. "I see no reason to argue my point. I already had an exemption before... You did not. To me, it is an open and close case. What do you think, Mario?"

"Fine, I guess..."

**Mario** : Needless to say, I wasn't very pleased with how the challenge ended. It didn't turn out well in my opinion. Two players blackmailed us and one player didn't deserve to have yet another advantage. I think that only Noki has her place on the list. Hopefully, she wins this exemption.

"Well, if you are finished... Toad, who did you choose?"

"Myself, Noki, Birdo and Jojora."

"Noki?"

"Toad, Jojora, Birdo and me."

"Jojora?"

"Toad, Jojora, Birdo and Noki."

"Birdo?"

"Me, Noki, Toad and Jojora, unfortunately..."

"Bootler?"

"Noki, Toad, Birdo and Jojora.

"Last but not least, Mario?"

"Noki, Toad, Jojora and...Birdo."

Monty Mole chuckled. "Well, well, well, all begins well that ends well, right? Congratulations, you added twenty thousand coins into the pot! You finally passed the one hundred thousand coins mark, bravo!"

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 20 000

Team Pot : 119 000 coins

The players clapped, some being more hypocritical than others. Once the clapping died down a little, Monty Mole pursued. "Another challenge awaits you this afternoon, so relax a little for the time being and see you soon!" Monty waved goodbye and ran outside of the hotel.

Jojora took her journal. "I can't say that I've written many things in it... Thankfully, this challenge was not uneventful," she whispered to herself.

**Jojora** : There were definitely suspicious behaviors. For Toad to pull off such a trick was pretty strange. But we can't forget Birdo who was trying to make us lose time, Mario who didn't want to win the challenge and Noki and Bootler who just agreed with everyone and didn't try to give much input on the situation...

**Bootler** : The play-style of everyone's favorite sculptor becomes stranger as the time goes... She just does not seem to play fairly and always has her way, through blackmail or shady deals . Mario was the only one who could reason her, but somehow, he stopped doing that. I think that they are in a coalition, despite the fact that Jojora is a manipulator. Everyone seems to disregard her as the Mole, because she is too obvious but I find their argument invalid. Everyone can be the Mole.

**Toad** : I think I noticed a bit of hesitation in Mario's voice... Maybe he was still weighing the pros and cons of his action? I thought it was suspicious.

Birdo and Noki were chatting animatedly in the sofa, watching a funny comedy on television while the other four were just talking and exchanging impressions. It suddenly changed when Toad located an envelope lying on the floor. He bent and picked it up. A mildly interested Mario looked at his discovery over his shoulder.

"What do we have here?" he inquired, smelling that something good was inside the envelope.

Toad shrugged. "I don't know, should we open it? I think it fell from Monty's pocket..."

"So you saw it falling from his pocket?" frowned Mario. Toad shook his head negatively.

"No, I just assumed that he lost it. It wasn't here before his arrival, remember?" recalled Toad. "It shouldn't change anything anyway. Do we open it or what?" he questioned impatiently.

Jojora, who was spying on their conversation, approached the duo. "I think we shouldn't. Do you remember what happened to Kooper last time he did something he hadn't been told to?"

"I suppose you're right. Maybe I should leave it here," trailed Toad.

"Hmmm... I think you should hide it somewhere. Like, under the cushions of the sofa..." Toad immediately hid the envelope and resumed his activities.

…

Later, the players went out of the Hotel they had been in and noted that Monty Mole was waiting for them. They made their way hurriedly toward him and quickly apologized for their lateness. Monty chuckled and told them that it was nothing and that they should get a move on because their next challenge awaited them.

"Hmm... Will we have to wear strange clothes, once again?" asked Noki to the host.

Monty Mole sighed. "Unfortunately, no. It wouldn't be practical otherwise." Cheers could be heard near them.

"How I loathed the costume we had to wear," remembered Bootler, happy to know that he would be free of them during this challenge. "Say, where are we going exactly?"

"You'll see when we arrive," responded Monty Mole.

The seven individuals arrived to the gigantic gates and were surprised to see that one again, Monty Mole made them go through Gate Eight. "Well, this place is becoming more and more familiar as the time goes," laughed Birdo.

"Oh well, you'll see more of Gate Eight in the future, trust me," chimed in the host. Jojora raised an eyebrow.

"Hopefully, we'll get to see many other things during our time in this show," hinted Mario.

"As long as it doesn't involve us wearing carnival clothes, I'm fine with it," shrugged Toad. Monty Mole pointed to a warp pipe.

"We'll take this one if you don't mind."

Noki smiled. "We've never been into this pipe, so that means..."

"New location!" cheered Birdo excitedly.

Their host said no more as he entered into the warp pipe which stood before them. One after another, the players went inside and traveled to a new place which would test their strength, their intelligence, their dexterity and most of all, their loyalty to the team.

…

"Oh, I love this place!" grinned Bootler, in a rare moment of excitement. "It looks exactly like the Boo Mansion!" he smiled to himself.

The players discovered a replica of Boo Mansion when they had gone out of the warp pipe they had been in seconds ago. Most of them were not particularly joyful, but then again, King Boo's Mansion was not a heavenly location, except for Bootler who felt as if it was his home. Birdo looked disgusted.

"Ugh, this mansion stinks... It's dirty as well as ugly. Hopefully the challenge will be a quick one," she hoped sincerely.

Noki agreed. "I don't feel so well around such a repulsive place."

Monty Mole ignored them. "Please follow me." They followed a path which led to the gloomy mansion and stopped when they saw strange harnesses labeled with their names. "Would you be so kind as to take the harness on which your name is written... It would be much appreciated."

Each player took a harness and put it on, some with more difficulties than others, but they eventually succeeded in a matter of minutes.

"Now, put on these glasses, please." A few seconds later, he continued. "This mission is called 'Mansion Nightmare'. You will be able to win up to thirty thousand coins." The players rejoiced. "But! Because there is always a but. With these glasses and harnesses, the mansion which is naturally harmless, will be transformed in a dangerous place with many death traps. Don't worry, they are just illusions, you won't actually be killed."

"Thank goodness," Noki let out a sigh of relief.

"I doubt it would be good for the ratings if some of you died a gruesome death anyway. Where was I... Oh, yeah. Well, there are many traps in here, but they can easily be avoided if you have in your possession the envelope I 'accidentally' dropped this morning."

Toad glared at Jojora. "Thank you so much for your advice!"

**Mario** : Jojora was the one who told Toad to hide the envelope somewhere, and that's indeed suspicious because we could have had an easy time with the challenge... Could she be playing me? That may be a possibility...

**Noki** : I'm suspicious of Toad and Jojora. What was Toad's outburst all about, exactly? I think we need to do some investigating.

"Right," stressed Monty Mole. "Anyway, if you trigger a trap and fall right into it, a red light should emanate from your harness. That would mean that you're out and that the final sum you can add into the pot at the end of the challenge will suffer a loss of five thousand coins."

"Well, that's good and everything, but how do we actually win this challenge?" inquired Jojora.

"Simple. All you have to do is reach the room where King Boo awaits. Well, there are other twists, but it wouldn't be fun if I told you everything. Oh, yeah, another thing, when you are out, remove the glasses and you'll be transported here. So players who are still in the game should never take off their glasses. Do you understand?"

"I assume that it will not be easy at all, but at least, I can safely say that the rules of this challenge are not too hard to understand," declared Bootler calmly.

"Yeah, it's all good," confirmed Mario, wearing a confident grin on his face.

"Then, open the doors!" barked Monty Mole as the doors magically opened. Noki jumped a little but Bootler remarked smartly that some Boo must have been pushing them. After that the players enter the mansion and the door quickly shut.

…

Needless to say, the mansion's interior was very dark and only a few spots were illuminated by the dim light of some candles. Bootler did not mind the darkness, but it was quite different for the other players.

"Ow! Who stepped on my foot?" grumbled Birdo.

"Whoops, sorry!" apologized Mario. "I didn't see it."

"God, why can't we have some light? How are we supposed to make it through this maze without light?" asked a unnerved Toad.

Mario took a few steps. "We'll have to be careful not to trigger any trap." As he warned them, he stepped on a slab which triggered a trap. "Crap."

The room was suddenly filled with light and beamed of electricity. Everyone turned to Mario and sent him annoyed glares. "Now that mister hero over here headed right into danger, we have to be careful. I guess those lasers might cause us to be eliminated if we touch them, so don't take any risk, got it?" questioned Jojora.

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the other five.

The six players maneuvered their way carefully over and under the electricity beams and managed to make it to the end of the room safe and sound. They now had a choice to make because they were offered the possibility to go to three rooms. "Hmmm, what do we do now? I mean, there are three rooms and we're six, so maybe we could split up?" suggested Noki.

"Splitting up might help us find where King Boo is located, but maybe the Mole will take that as an opportunity to sabotage," reminded them Bootler. "We should not play with fire."

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the reminder, but we already knew that. Thing is, if we split up, we'll cover more ground, thus we'll win faster."

"Well, blabber all you want, but I'm not wasting time here, I'd rather look for King Boo or something else," Birdo announced slyly. She quickly reached for the handle of the door on the far right and pushed. Noki followed her and the two friends disappeared from the others' view.

**Bootler** : Birdo forced us to start the challenge, while it could have been easier to concert each other and to establish a strategy. I am not saying that it would have made a difference but I am sure that being impulsive is not the way to go.

"I guess it's settled then. I take this door!" exclaimed Toad, pointing at the door in the middle. "Who comes?"

"I imagine it will not kill me," shrugged Bootler.

That left Mario and Jojora with only one possibility. "Oh well, let's try our best!" tried Mario.

"I'd rather not try but win this game."

…

Noki and Birdo saw an endless straight path disappearing far far away from their position. They did not know what to do in the first place, and were startled to see that Bootler and Toad had joined them. "What are you doing here exactly? You thought we couldn't handle this alone or...?" questioned Noki.

"Not really. We didn't even take the same door as the both of you," Toad explained, confused at the whole thing. "I don't know, but maybe the paths are connected somehow?"

"That is a possibility, but let us not waste our time talking about that. We need to get going," motivated them Bootler.

"You can lead the way if you want," proposed Birdo.

"Don't mind if I do!" answered the mushroom.

He and Bootler took a few steps and let the girls behind them. However, as they progressed through the dark corridor, Bootler and Toad activated another trap. They froze at first, thinking that something bad was going to happen, but then they turned around and saw that a giant boulder was rolling toward them. They hastened and sought refuge in a recess of the wall which was on their right.

**Noki** : That was suspicious of them. We knew there were tons of traps in the mansion, but they paid no attention to the warnings... Sometimes, I wish people were more careful... Am I the only one who worries all the time?

"Aaaaaaah!" screamed Noki, trying hard not to trip while running away from the boulder which was closing on her and Birdo.

"Bootler, what do we do?" asked Toad, worried about the other two players.

"You should relax Toad. Or did you already forget that Monty Mole specifically told us that we would not be harmed by the traps of this mansion?" replied the ghost. Toad raised an eyebrow.

**Toad** : Sometimes, I think that young and old people can't understand each other...

"Hmm, I know that. The two of them represent ten thousand coins, I was worried about _that_," emphasized Toad.

Well, we obviously cannot save the two of them, but maybe we could pull the nearest one with us?" suggested the old Boo.

"Let's do this!" grinned Toad.

The two girls were a few feet away from them and did not seem to notice the two pairs of arms at the ready. Just as Birdo and Noki passed, Toad and Bootler quickly pulled one of them in the recess of the wall they were in.

"What the-" started Birdo, before being interrupted.

"We saved you and five thousand coins at the same time," summed up Toad.

Birdo was angry at them. "And you couldn't help Noki because...?"

"As much as we would have wanted to help her as well, we just could not. We would have been flattened by the boulder. Not to mention that fifteen thousand coins would have been lost," explained thoroughly Bootler to the pink dinosaur.

"Sorry, I wasn't being rational. Hopefully, Noki managed to escape," concluded Birdo.

…

As for Mario and Jojora, they were in a pitch black room. They were advancing carefully, hoping not to trigger any trap. When they reached the middle of the room, an eerie music came to their ears, making them shudder in fright.

"Monty sure does know how to mess with our heads. Thankfully, we're not in a near death situation," sighed Mario, happy to be in a game.

"Hum, Mario, why are you pushing me?" inquired Jojora impatiently. "I thought we agreed to do this one calmly?"

"What are you talking about? You are pushing me!" retorted Mario, confused at the whole situation.

"Wait! The wall! It's closing on us!" shouted Jojora, panicked.

"Crap!" yelled Mario running straight for the wall he was facing and touching it, to feel a door or a handle. Jojora did the same but started at the opposing end. "I've got it!" he cried. Mario opened the door and dived in the next room. However, Jojora could not reach the door in time and ultimately got flattened between the walls.

"Sorry Mario!" she shouted just before she was transported outside of the mansion.

"Heeheehee... Jojora has been deleted permanently from my mansion... How well will the five of you fare?" A frightening voice asked, coming out of hidden speakers.

"I don't know," mumbled Mario to himself, "I don't know."


	17. Another One, Taken by Surprise

**Krisetchers** : Thanks for your review ! You might see a reference to your story somewhere in this chapter, I couldn't resist. XD I see I'm not the only one who likes crushing people under boulders. XD Thanks for reading ! ^^ Nice suspicions by the way. ^^

**Charz** : Thank you Charz ! And don't worry, I always seem to suspect the wrong person during the Mole too. XD I like reading your suspicions too ! ^^

...

Previously on the Mole, the players competed in a mini-challenge to see who would be able to win an exemption for this episode. This time, the challenge was more of a mental one : the players had to nominate four names before thirty minutes passed, otherwise twenty thousand coins wouldn't be added to the team pot. The players, through blackmail and shady deals, ultimately reached a decision under the limit time, successfully adding their deserved money into the pot, although some of them were not happy with the way things had gone. After that, they were taken to King Boo's Mansion by Monty Mole, where their next challenge awaited them. A haunted and deadly mansion which would test their ability to adapt in a hostile place. With Jojora failing earlier than expected, Mario, Noki, Toad, Birdo and Bootler now only have the possibility to win twenty five thousand coins out of thirty thousand. How well will they do?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

17 : Another One, Taken by Surprise...

**Mario** : Jojora's performance in the challenge wasn't really good. But I can't really blame her, as we really did not realize what was going on. Plus, you're more careful when you proceed in a pitch black room because you can't see a thing.

Mario was stunned, after Jojora's disappearance. Not only had they lost five thousand coins, but he was now alone, with no moral support, in a dangerous environment. Needless to say, Mario was not particularly confident that he would 'survive'. Standing up and dusting himself, Mario commented to himself the situation he was in. "Well, we're off to a great start... And just what is this...?"

Before him were an incredible number of razor blades, swinging in a fast motion. "Woo... Bowser's Castles never looked this fun."

He took a few steps, hesitantly at first, and when he saw that there was no other trap in the room he started to fasten his pace. The room was rather empty, with the exception of the swinging blades hanging from the ceiling, so Mario thought that he could take his time with this challenge. He evaluated the speed of the dangerous object, took a deep breath and dashed forward, anticipating the blade's movement.

**Mario** : I quickly came to realize that we weren't timed anyway, so we could take our time avoiding the traps. Really, there wasn't anything difficult. At least, not for me. The dark room was tricky, and I almost virtually died in it, but still, the rest was so much easier.

…

Noki had managed to escape the boulder in time and she had gone through one of the two doors that led to another room. She was currently in an empty room, aside from a strange mechanism located in the very middle of the room and a few boards situated on the walls.

**Noki** : The mansion in itself wasn't that scary... It was more of a test, to see how well we could do under a lot of stress and pressure. I did find some traps to be more difficult to avoid than others, though. Overall, I think it was doable. The producers would never create impossible challenges.

Noki was panting after having run at full speed. She took a small break and began to inspect the curious thing that was located in the center of the room. Hers eyes widened when she discovered that it was a bomb.

"Oh my god!" She let out a small cry. "What am I supposed to do?"

The blue-shelled girl panicked a moment but regained her composure when she saw that a combination was needed in order to disable the bomb. She frowned, seeing that only five little minutes remained. "Well, I don't have a single second to spare," she noted, making her way toward the boards, the only other things besides the bomb.

To her surprise, there were questions pertaining to the game written on it. "Multiply the numbers of letters the number of letters which are in the name of the fourth eliminated player by the number of letters of the players with the shortest first name," she read aloud. "Well, there are seven letters in Pauline, and I think that Toad and I have the shortest first name, which would mean that the answer to this one would be twenty eight."

She moved on to the second one. "Add the number of legs that all of the players have in total to the number of letters which are in Donkey's and Kooper's surname. Oh, that's a trick question! Flurrie and Bootler don't have legs, so hmmm...the answer would be sixteen plus ten. Twenty six!" she smiled.

She walked to the third board. "Remember the name of the first challenge. You need the number of letters that are needed to spell it. Mmmh... My mind is drawing a blank, here... I know that the first challenge involved our belongings, but..." Suddenly, she remembered it. "'Mixed-up Possessions' ! Eighteen letters."

**Noki** : Some people may find me suspicious because I know all the answers when it comes to mental challenges, but I just happen to have the memory of an elephant. Which is quite good in this game, as it helps me answer the quizzes quickly and efficiently. Some players told me that they couldn't manage to be fast and collected while taking their questionnaire, so I know that I have a good advantage here.

"Last one... Please be easy! Let's see. There have been three Mole games, as of now. Add the numbers of players of each game to find your last number. Nine, twelve and ten. Thirty-one!" she exclaimed, rushing to the keyboard linked to the bomb. She quickly entered the numbers and the timer stopped.

She rejoiced and went through the only other door of that room.

…

Unlike Noki, Bootler, Birdo and Toad chose to stick together and opened the door which was on the left of the corridor. Upon entering the room, they noticed that there was lot of wooden furniture all over the place.

**Toad **: I'm glad Bootler and Birdo are on my group, that way I can watch what they're doing. Or rather, what they're not doing in Birdo's case. Seriously, I don't want to sound mean, but she often led our team to failure. Is she the Mole? Or a genuine player? Or could it be a trick to stay in the game longer?

"Well, that seems rather easy," stated Birdo as she walked toward the door on the other side of the room and tried to open it. "Okay, I spoke too soon," she realized, when the door did not open.

"Wait, what's that sound?" questioned Toad as he heard something at the top of the room.

"Your guess is as good as mine," answered Bootler politely. "But, I do think that it is another trap."

Birdo looked at the ceiling and noticed something dripping from it. "Is that...water?" she asked to no one in particular. "Oh my gosh, it's really water, the room's going to get flooded!" she yelled, panicked.

"Relax!" ordered Toad. "Let's find a way out."

"We need a key!" exclaimed Birdo, feeling a keyhole. "Quick people, before the water level goes too high!" She went to a nearby desk and opened its drawers. "Hmm, there's nothing here."

"Search somewhere else, then," demanded Bootler gently, inspecting a piece of furniture. "Where do you think they might have hidden the key?"

"I don't know," confessed Toad. "I mean, you can't tell whether they used reverse psychology and hid it near the door or not. We better get a move on though, the water's reaching my shoulders!"

"Funny, I thought you didn't have shoulders," laughed Birdo.

Toad groaned. "Well, you can't really see them, but I do have shoulders. I don't have a neck, though..."

The room fell silent, except for the sound of water, which was leaking out of the ceiling. Soon enough, the players had to swim to move around the room, and were beginning to be really desperate.

Birdo noticed something on the wall, and swam closer to inspect it. To her surprise, it was the very key the players needed to escape that room. "Hey guys, I found it!"

Bootler looked at her strangely. "Hmm, it is rather strange, because I am in possession of that key."

"Don't stand there, try them on the lock," ordered Toad. Bootler cleared his throat.

"I am not the best swimmer out there," he hinted, putting the key in Toad's hand. Birdo did the same.

"I'm not a spectacular swimmer either, and if you can't do it, I doubt Bootler and I will manage to."

Toad nodded and swam toward the door, keys in hand. Birdo's key was a perfect fit.

**Birdo** : I'm a bit skeptical about Bootler's key. For all we know, he could have had it on himself at the beginning of the challenge, and he could have made us lose this challenge by giving it to Toad at the most appropriate time. Appropriate for him, of course.

The room was emptied of its water, and the players went through another door.

…

Mario had easily cleared the room he had been in previously, and was now before a strange altar. On it were written different symbols that Mario recognized as roman numerals. The red hero was puzzled at first, and could not clearly see the meaning of the numbers. But he realized what they meant as he approached the door which was behind the white altar.

"Wait. Wait a minute... Is that what I think it is? The thing engraved on that door... It's not a circle, it's a zero!"

He was ecstatic. The plumber went back to the altar and saw that there was a single pen as well as a sheet of paper near it. He took the two items and quickly went to work. "The good thing is that I know that that's some sort of combination. The bad thing is that... I can't really remember what all of these numbers mean."

Mario took a deep breath and resumed his activities. He was determined to win the money.

**Mario** : I was kind of confused at first... I mean, it's not everyday you have to remember what are the signification of some roman numerals. Sure, everybody knows the simple ones, but there are some signs that we don't use anymore, so I had to jog my memory a little for that challenge.

…

Noki was now in a rather unoccupied room. She smiled a little, finding amusing the fact that such a big mansion could be that empty, being the abode of a King. Noki took a few steps into the room, all the while glancing at her surroundings. Suddenly, a big sound was heard and the floor crackled. She was astonished and only regained her composure seconds before the floor was no more.

Noki let out a yell as she plummeted to her doom and was transported outside of the mansion. King Boo cackled. "And then, there were four..."

…

"Crap!" shouted Birdo, after she had heard the announcement. "I guess either Noki or Mario failed that challenge. Now it's only worth twenty thousand coins, which isn't really good for us."

"It's still a good amount of coins," noted Toad, farther into the room. Birdo and Bootler were still talking together, near the entrance.

That room was strange. The floor was not really a floor but more of a soil, with holes here and there. Other than that, the room was empty. However, the players remarked that there was a sound coming out of the holes.

"I really don't know what we're supposed to do," shrugged Toad, inspecting the other door.

"We should be on our guard," warned Bootler. "You never know, there might be more than meets the eyes."

Birdo followed Bootler, who had left to inspect the holes. "Yeah, but come on, how are we supposed to find the exit? I mean, I thought we had established that this mansion was just a giant maze?"

Suddenly, as Birdo left her spot, a loud rumbling was heard by everyone and the room spun. The calm Bootler was perplexed. "What is happening?" he asked to his fellow comrades who were too busy panicking.

After some seconds, the situation returned to normal, except for the fact that a giant cage was now present near the door they had entered by. "Soooo... Did someone notice something unusual in this room, except for the giant iron cage over there?" questioned Toad.

Birdo's eyes grew wide as she stared at Toad. "Toad, run! There's something behind you! Quick, let's enter that thing!" she shouted, pointing at the cage.

Bootler did not wait a second and reached the safe spot easily. Toad had a bit of trouble as he was pursued by a crazy mole with sharp blades instead of paws, but he eventually managed to run away to the cage.

"My guess is that we need to reach the opposite door without being 'tagged' by those moles," explained Bootler.

"Yeah, except for the fact that last time I checked the door was locked."

Birdo pondered for a second. "I think Bootler might be right. It's not like we can do anything else at the moment, anyway, right? I don't see any key, and it does look like we're playing tag with those moles. We even have a place where they can't touch us, that's exactly how I played tag when I was a kid."

Bootler eyed the moles. "We need a strategy. Obviously, rushing to the door on the opposite side will not work."

"I say we go there one at a time!" suggested Toad. "Also, we don't try anything risky. We're already down to four players, we can't afford to lose another one right now."

Birdo asked the dreaded question. "So, who goes first?"

…

Mario had finally figured it out. It took him a bit of time, but thanks to his quick thinking, he managed to fill some holes in his logic and cleared the puzzle.

**Mario** : So, I had finished the puzzle when I asked myself that question : should I wait for the others of should I go ahead and claim victory for myself? Ultimately, I decided to wait for them, but I kind of thought that there would be an award for the one who would manage to escape first. Oh well, at least I decided not to play selfishly, unlike Flurrie.

With the combination in hand, Mario walked out of the altar room and found himself standing in the very room in which they had started their challenge. A few minutes after his apparition, he saw that Toad had dived into the room in a similar fashion Mario himself had dived out of the dark room. Mario chuckled to himself and helped Toad to his feet. "So, how is it going?"

"Oh, hi Mario! Well, Bootler and I joined with Noki and Birdo, but then we triggered a trap which separated us from Noki. I guess that she has been eliminated since you're still here and after that we-"

Toad was interrupted when Birdo crashed into him. Once again, the hero in red helped his friends to their feet.

"Sorry Toad! I kind of ran straight for the door, opened it and quickly escaped the moles. Bootler should be coming soon so-"

"One of my kind collapsed under the weight of his task. Only three of you remain," King Boo's voice echoed.

"I guess he won't be coming soon then," smiled Birdo, hesitantly. Toad and Mario looked at each other, almost rolling their eyes.

"Anyway," Mario started, getting back on topic, "I've found our ticket out of this challenge!"

Toad raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? We've already lost three of us, so I hope that you know what you're doing..."

Mario nodded. "Relax. I actually stumbled upon a strange room in which was a single altar. And, on that altar was a combination that I had to decipher. I also found out that there was a number on each door. So all we have to do is follow the right order and we'll be out of here in no time."

"Awesome!" cheered Birdo. "So, where do we go, exactly?"

"We need to find door number two!"

Toad went to the door which was situated in the middle and opened it. "This one, follow me!"

The pink dinosaur and the red plumber followed the mushroom and found themselves in the boulder room. This time however, no trap was triggered. Birdo and Toad were surprised. They even tried to trigger the trap another time, but nothing was working. "That's weird..."

"That might be weird, but for once that something helps us, I'm not going to refuse that help!"

Mario was puzzled but said nothing as they advanced farther into the room. "Now, we need to go through door number four... This way!" he exclaimed, going toward the door on the left.

They were now in the bomb room. Noki had deactivated the bomb earlier, so they found no new obstacle along the way and directly went to the next room. It was where Noki had fallen to her demise. One part of the floor was totally gone, so the three survivors knew what was going to happen.

"As soon as I say three, we rush to the end of this room," ordered Mario. "One... Two... Three!" he yelled as they all departed. They were going so fast that Toad almost tripped at the end, but Birdo and Mario helped him and they succeeded. As soon as they passed the door, they noted that they were back in the first room.

"Well, that was easy!" smiled Birdo.

"Noki probably cleared the way before she lost," assumed Toad.

"Probably. Anyway, next, we are heading to door number three, which is the door I took in the first place. Birdo, give me your hand. And take Toad's."

"Why?"

"Well, it's where Jojora was eliminated. The room is pitch black and the wall on the opposite side was closing on us. I know where the exit is since I found it, but we need to stay united," explained Mario.

**Birdo** : That was really suspicious of Mario. He found the exit but couldn't help Jojora get out of the room in time? Oh please, that's not believable... And totally Mole-ish.

Mario guided the players through the darkness and in no time they were out of the room. "Okay, this room is really easy," nodded Mario to himself. "You just need to take your time."

**Toad** : I'm really glad this was just a simulation, otherwise I would have fainted.

No one had any trouble during the ordeal. They even managed to joke around while the blades were still swinging above their heads. "It's cool that most of the traps are only troublesome once," noted Toad.

They were at the end of the obstacle course in no time and looked at Mario's sheet. "So... Next door is number six."

"Wouldn't door six be the one we just passed?" questioned Birdo. Toad smiled.

"Yeah, my bad. Let's take door number eight then!"

Mario, Birdo and Toad found themselves in a long room full of lava. The only way to make it to the next door was to walk on a tightrope, avoiding falling rocks all the while. They looked at each other and gulped nervously.

"So... Ladies first?"

"Oh please, you know there's no way I'll do it first," responded Birdo, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you show us how manly you are?"

"If you wanted, I could go first," laughed Toad. "I have a good balance."

"Then it's settled!" Mario clapped his hand.

Toad took tiny steps at first, fearing that the falling rocks mad the tightrope wobble. After a while, he decided that it was safe enough and went a little faster.

"Toad! Be careful!" yelled Mario.

Toad reacted just in time and dived out of the way of the crumbling rock and reached the other side. "Thanks Mario! You guys should be careful too. We don't want to lose this challenge now that we're so close to winning it!"

Birdo and Mario soon joined him, and together, they opened the door. From then on, Birdo and Toad guided Mario, as they had previously visited the last rooms they now had to go to. The traps being deactivated, it made the route really easy to follow.

"Dang, this challenge took a lot of time," whined Birdo. "I really hope it's finally the end..."

"Logically, we only have to go through the moles' room one more time and we're finished," Toad told her. "Since you know, we already unlocked the door of the flooded room."

Mario chuckled. "Wow, I'm sure you guys had a lot of fun..."

Birdo smiled back. "Trust me, you can't even begin to imagine how much fun we had."

A little while after that, they reached the moles' room. This time, however, the moles were aligned in two rows, letting the players take a clear and direct path to the last door. The group of three was dubious at first, but when the moles made no attempt to attack them, they assumed the coast was clear.

Unlike most of the previous rooms, except for the first one, the three players felt like it was an actual room of the mansion, as it was really furnished and had a lot of candles hanging on the walls. The dark blue carpet, neatly disposed on the stairs, and the dilapidated guardrails gave them the impression that it was once a truly beautiful mansion, but that time had left its mark on the building.

"Hey! What is that?" asked Birdo, her keen eyes noticing strange devices on the side of the stairs.

Mario shrugged. "Probably nothing important. Let's go!" Mario took a few steps when suddenly, he felt that something had stung him.

"Surprise, surprise!" Toad exclaimed as he took Mario's arm. "You heroes really aren't careful... You've been shot by a tranquilizer."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, maybe he read what was written on that thing," Birdo explained, pointing at one of the tranquilizers.

**Birdo** : Mario was awfully distracted during that challenge, I wonder if it was natural or not... That's so not like him.

"Maybe we should avoid the darts," suggested Toad.

"I'm not sure. I mean, look at the wall on your left. Don't you think it's a little too sophisticated as compared with the rest of the room?" besought Birdo.

"It also looks like it goes straight to our only way out. As if it triggers something," Mario mused.

"Does that mean that it's game over for us if we don't get shot?" asked Toad. Nobody knew the answer, but in the end, they decided to let the tranquilizers shoot them. Except that their plan was not really to get shot.

The three players took off their shoes and put them in the way of the darts, effectively taking care of the threat that represented the tranquilizers. They reached the top of the stairs and Mario was the first one to open the door, followed by Birdo and Toad.

…

King Boo was sitting on his throne. Or at least, the three remaining players assumed that he was. He rose up from his position and glared at them, not sounding pleased one bit. "Hmph. I guess you managed to survive. How unfortunate! Anyway, you, in red, come here."

Mario did what King Boo expected him to do. "You are the first who reached me. So you get the power." King Boo cackled as he snapped his fingers. Two of his underlings appeared, each having a bag in their right hand.

King Boo pointed at the Boo who was on Mario's left. "She has the money you three deserve." He then moved his finger toward the other one. "He, however, possesses what you would call a lifesaver, in your game. Yes, he does have an exemption. Make your choice."

Behind him, Toad and Birdo were whispering. "I really hope he will take the money," prayed the latter.

"Tell me about it," responded Toad.

Finally, Mario made his choice. "As much as it pains me to do so, and I'm sure I'll regret later on in the game, I take the money," Mario smiled weakly.

"Here you go," smiled politely the Boo who had the money.

"Escort them to the dining room, Boonie," ordered the king.

"Very well sir. Please, this way."

…

Boonie led the three winners to the dining room where were awaiting them Jojora, Noki, Bootler and Monty Mole. When he saw them, Mario raised the bag of money up in the air. They all clapped for him.

**Noki** : As much as I like Mario, he just refused to take an exemption two times in a row. If I had been in his place, I would have taken one of them... It's really fishy. Birdo also told me that he conveniently discovered the whole solution of the challenge, which makes him pretty suspicious in my book.

**Bootler** : Who was suspicious during the challenge? Birdo. Definitely Birdo. She always refused to go first, it was as if she wanted to see the others fail without doing anything. If she had been the first to cross the 'finish line', she could have sabotaged the mission by taking the exemption...

**Jojora** : When we were waiting for Toad, Birdo and Mario, Noki told us how she deactivated a bomb before being eliminated by a disappearing floor, or something. Am I the only one sane enough to note that it is very strange that miss quick on her feet failed in that room?

**Toad** : Jojora... First one out. Really strange, don't you think so? Plus, maybe she searched on the right part of the wall because she knew that she wouldn't be able to reach the door in time so everyone would have seen that as an 'accident', if you know what I mean.

**Birdo** : Bootler knew what he had to do to escape the killer moles. I mean, Toad and I managed to make it to the next room without harm, so Bootler had already seen two ways to avoid them. Despite that fact, he still managed to lose, so I'm wondering whether he tried or just let the moles attack him to make the team lose five thousand coins. Not to mention that his key was most likely a fake one.

**Mario** : Toad could have made us lose. During the ultimate part of the challenge, when we had to face the tranquilizers, he suggested that we should avoid them. Yet, we later found out that if one dart connected with the wall it was game over for us, so that kind of makes me have doubts about Toad...

"Well, look at Mario's bag! It sure seems full of money, doesn't it?" Monty Mole grinned. "Mario, let's open it and reveal its content to everyone in the room, shall we?"

Mario put the bag on the table and opened it, revealing a check worth fifteen thousand coins. Everyone cheered, once again.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 30 000 – 15 000 = 15 000

Team Pot : 134 000 coins

"I also want to point out that Mario was offered an exemption. Fortunately for you, he declined it, seeing as he would have to sacrifice the coins won during the challenge," informed Monty Mole.

"You did that? Wow, you're really brave. Or foolish," Jojora added in an afterthought.

"Thanks Mario, I'm really glad that someone showed some team spirit. It's something we've been lacking of since the very beginning of the game!" chuckled Noki.

Bootler shook his head. "Above all, the Mole is an individual game, hence why we did not see many players acting for the team."

"You can't say that, Bootler," disagreed Toad. "Remember during the clue hunt? Most of us stayed together so we wouldn't lose coins for the team. I think it shows that we can act as a team, sometimes."

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "You surely cannot have forgotten what happened after this challenge, can you?"

"Anyway," the host started, rather loudly, "Way to end an episode! You won more than half of the coins which were at stakes, so congratulations! Unfortunately, one of you will be sent home tonight. Feel free to visit the mansion, King Boo was kind enough to let you roam freely through his abode. I'll see you later, after dinner!"

Monty Mole escaped quickly, leaving baffled players behind him.

**Jojora** : Wait, what? This can't be! We can't have another execution this soon! It defeats the purpose of the game! I thought I had time to prepare myself before the quiz, but it appears that I don't! Ugh, this show sucks!

**Bootler** : I was as shocked as the other players when I learned the news... Or was I?

**Noki** : Monty seemed pretty serious when he told us that we would lose another player that night... I prayed to obtain the exemption, because I knew that the game was moving on fast, and I really needed it.

…

The players had decided to explore the mansion together, despite Jojora's reluctance, and were now looking at the paintings of ghosts, displayed in a gallery. Some of them were not paying attention to the visit and opted for reviewing their journal entries. That was the case of Jojora.

"Jojora, why are you writing in your journal?" questioned Birdo. "Can't you stop for a minute and join us?"

"No."

"That was blunt," laughed Toad. He was quickly silenced by one of Jojora's death glares. "I'm going to...errr...watch more paintings. Do you want to come, Bootler?"

Bootler raised an eyebrow at first, clearly not understanding why Toad would require his presence, but quickly returned to his normal attitude as he realized why Toad had called him. "It would be an honor," acquiesced the old Boo.

Mario looked at them warily and was ready to follow them when Jojora stopped writing. "Honestly girls. Do you think you'll make it to the next round if you don't focus?"

"Oh please Jojora, don't think we're stupid. We all know that you aren't the 'real' Jojora. Chucklissa told us that you were the exact opposite of what you are right now. Stop being so strategic and enjoy yourself, for once!"

"I'm not being myself? Funny. I guess there's no helping you, huh? I'll see you later during the reunion show," she smiled innocently, before walking out of the room.

**Jojora** : Birdo and Noki expect to make it to the final round without doing a thing. Well, hello there! Earth to the Moon! You won't get anywhere if you don't start to take this game seriously!

Noki was hurt. "Does she really think that we're stupid? Because I'll show her that I'm not! I'll make it to the finals and win the game and then she will be sorry!" exclaimed the blue-shelled girl.

"Please don't take it personally," Mario finally spoke up. "You know how she is, she doesn't like when things don't go her way."

Noki raised an eyebrow. "Why are you in an alliance with her when you clearly don't have the same mindset?"

Mario glanced at the painting of a ghost he had seen before, Madame Clairvoya, smiled a little and responded to Noki. "Why don't you ask yourself why you are in an alliance with Birdo?"

"Mmh... It doesn't really answer her question, Mario," piped in Birdo.

Mario chuckled. "Oh yes it does. The reason why I'm in an alliance with Jojora is exactly the same as the one which unites the both of you. I'll give you a clue. We're not in an alliance because we are friends."

"Why are you so cryptic?" asked a bewildered Birdo.

Mario raised an eyebrow and smiled flirtatiously. "Because women always fall for the mysterious type."

The three of them burst out laughing. Farther into the gallery were Toad and Bootler, also discussing strategy.

"That's weird... The painting of Bogmire isn't on display," noted Toad. "Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to join forces with me, as we're the last two competitors without an alliance. I really think it would benefit us in the long run," Toad explained carefully, hoping to receive a positive answer.

"That could be a game changing move for me and I do not know whether it would result in a good or a bad ending... What I do know, however, is that unless we become allies, our chances to make it to the last episode would be very thin. We are in an agreement, aren't we?"

**Bootler** : I have a small suspicion on Toad, which is why I also agreed to form an alliance with him. I also feel like, by making this deal, I am securing my place in the final.

"Yes we are!" smiled Toad, shaking Bootler's hand. "Oh shoot, the others are coming! Do as if nothing had happened," demanded Toad in a whisper.

Mario, Noki and Birdo joined Bootler and Toad, and together, they resumed their visit of the mansion.

…

The players, with their host, were having dinner in King Boo's mansion, their meal prepared by the best cook of the abode. After having gone through some much trouble earlier, during their challenge, they were particularly happy to sit down and relax, even though their fear of the approaching execution was still present. When they had almost finished their meal, Monty Mole cleared his throat and clapped his hand together.

A pair of Boo came to him, pushing a big wheel behind the host's chair. Immediately, the six contestants grew tense.

"Oh my," Noki whispered to herself, "Is that what I think it is?"

Birdo closed her eyes. "Yes, here comes the wheel of fortune."

"Birdo, if that was a pun let me tell you that it sucked," Toad laughed.

"So you found me out, eh? My jokes are really lame," agreed Birdo, trying to lighten the mood.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Can we please get to the point? I'm anxious."

Monty Mole nodded. "Toad, Noki, Jojora and Birdo. One of you will win an exemption, as I told you earlier this morning. I don't have much to say about that so... Mario, Bootler, who wants to spin the wheel?"

Bootler glanced at Mario. "We do not want to spin it. You are the host, you should be spinning it. I am sure that the others are thinking the same thing."

"Alright, I guess you don't want to take such a big responsibility," shrugged the host. "I'll spin it."

All the eyes were fixed on the wheel as Monty Mole spun it with all his might. It turned for a long while and finally stopped on the picture of one particular player.

"Yes!" she cheered as she claimed her prize.

Mario could not help but groan.

**Mario** : The person who deserved the exemption the least, Birdo, got it! That's so unfair! She shouldn't have won that, I should have said that I didn't agree with their choice back then, but then they would have seen me as suspicious! Ugh... This sucks.

Monty Mole summed up the situation. "Tonight, Birdo is safe from execution, which means that one of you five will be eliminated. I wish you the best of luck. Birdo, it seems that you are finished. Do you want to take the quiz first?"

Birdo rose from her chair and followed Monty Mole to the next room to take her questionnaire.

…

_1. What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Birdo** : I suspect two particular players right now, so I'll base my quiz on them. Even though I know I'm safe, I should take this test seriously, as I probably won't be protected next execution...

_2. During Episode 1, from which helicopter did the Mole get off?_

_-First Helicopter_

_-Second Helicopter_

_-Third Helicopter_

_-Fourth Helicopter _

_-Fifth Helicopter _

_3. What is the number of the Mole's journal?_

_-1_

_-2_

_-3_

_-4_

_-6_

_-8_

**Toad** : These questions made me think... I've changed so much since I first got off from that helicopter... Thinking about it, it's not only I who changed but also my suspicions as well as the game. It has only been a little more than one week that we're playing, but it feels like months. This game is moving fast, but I think I have a chance to make it to the end.

_4. During Episode 2, which mission did the Mole partake in?_

_-Floral Composition_

_-Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep_

_5. During Episode 3, was the Mole offered an exemption during the Challenge Feet Versus Wheels?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Mario** : I found it a bit fishy that the questions were taking us back all the way to the first episodes. Also, I found it quite strange that there were so many filler questions... I don't know, it was...strange.

_6. During Episode 4, was the Mole able to bring back a loved one?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Noki** : I remember how frustrated I was, when I learned that Jojora failed such an easy task, especially after hearing from Birdo how she did that. Bootler was also very strange during that challenge, it was obvious sabotage. I think it was...

_7. During Episode 5, was the Mole one of the four players chosen to obtain an exemption?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Jojora **: It sucks that I didn't win it, even though it was just about luck. Now that a dumb competitor won it, I have more chances to get executed. The good point is that I most likely won't be executed.

_8. What is the Mole's job?_

_-Plumber_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Butler_

_-Fashion Designer_

_-Sculptor_

_-Gardener_

_9. What is the Mole's last name?_

_-Teeheena_

_-Mario_

_-Phalloïde_

_-Delphis_

_-Majordome_

_-Ribbon_

**Bootler** : All games have their twists and we just experienced one. Who knew that we would have two executions consecutively?

_10. Who is the Mole?_

_-Noki_

_-Bootler_

_-Birdo_

_-Toad_

_-Mario_

_-Jojora_

…

The time had come, for another player to leave the game. Six chairs were disposed outside of King Boo's mansion, in front of the usual execution screen. It was a cold night, so everyone had put on a coat before meeting up with Monty Mole. One by one, the players sat down on the chairs, watching their surroundings with anxiety. The eerie mansion was ten times more frightening during nighttime, the cries of the crows amplifying the dark atmosphere. Trying to divert their attention toward the host, the players could not help but feel like someone watched them, from the forest.

"Welcome to your fifth execution, as you may already know, the person who scored the lowest on the questionnaire will be executed from the game, with no way of ever returning back. Now that that's said, Birdo won an exemption, so she's safe and will partake in the sixth episode. I'll call you one by one, by alphabetical order, this time. Let's begin."

Birdo knew that her name would be the first one called, so she prepared herself. "Birdo," Monty Mole called.

Birdo stood up from her position and quickly made her way toward the host, inserting the exemption in the slot.

**B-I-R-D-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

She nodded to herself and went back to her seat.

"Bootler," continued the host.

Bootler rose from his chair and walked toward the screen, as calm as ever.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

He let out a sigh of relief and regained his chair.

"Jojora," pursued Monty Mole.

Jojora stood up and walked confidently toward Monty Mole, a smug smile on her face.

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"Mario!" Monty Mole exclaimed dramatically.

The Mushroom Kingdom's hero followed the example of the three persons who were previously called, his face showing signs of nervousness.

**M-A-R-I-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"We're now down to two competitors. Let's continue. Noki."

Noki gulped nervously and made her way to the screen, biting her nails.

**N-O-K-I**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Noki was shocked but relieved. She turned to Toad and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Toad," finished Monty Mole.

Toad looked resigned and walked toward Monty Mole proudly.

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

"Mmmh... You're sure this thing is working?" questioned Toad, baffled. The others were all surprised as well, except for Jojora.

"Pff, you guys are way too gullible, this is why I'm saying from the very beginning that this game will be a piece of cake," she gloated.

"Which means?" inquired Noki, raising an eyebrow.

"Which means that, had you paid attention to what Monty Mole had said at the beginning, you wouldn't have freaked out about your possible execution."

"Pardon me to interrupt, but were you not the one who left because you wanted to be well prepared for the quiz?" asked Bootler.

Jojora laughed. "Oh please. I tell you that I knew from the very beginning that it was fake. I just didn't want to spoil the fun for you guys. Well, whatever I guess, I had my fun. If you guys had listened, you should have known that three exemptions could have been won during this episode. However, we clearly only had the opportunity to win two of them, hence why this episode isn't over yet."

"I also remembered the fact that three exemptions had not been proposed during that episode, but Monty Mole confused me so much that I actually thought it was real," realized Bootler.

Monty Mole applauded. "Well, that was a remarkable explanation Jojora, and you were right all along. Tonight, you guys only took the first part of your quiz. The second part will be for tomorrow." He paused a minute. "Well, you must be tired, so why wouldn't we go back to our hotel?"

His suggestion received various positive answers, so they decided to walk back to their hotel.


	18. Sleuthing Skills

**DryBonesKing** : I'm glad you were a bit surprised. ^^ Yes, this was only the first part of the quiz. They will take the next part in the next chapter, then their scores will be added and the person who scored the lowest will leave. I'm glad you like the story and thanks for your review. ^^

**Krisetchers** : Lol, it was nothing compared to your stories, though. XD I couldn't resist, your mission was so awesome that I thought I needed to mention the tranquilizer room somewhere. At first, there was nothing in the last room. ^^ Thank you for your time ! ^^

**Ice Empoleon (1)** : Wow... That's awesome ! I always like your reviews because you have really really really awesome theories ! That was really great to read ! ^^ I also liked the quick summaries at the end of Mario's and Noki's suspicious acts.

**Ice Empoleon (2)** : Haha, glad you were surprised ! ^^ Birdo didn't lose her exemption, though. And yeah, I know I put a little too much exemptions in my stories. In my first Mole story two exemptions had been given when it was the final 4 (so there were 5 people, with the Mole). And in my second Mole story that I still haven't finished yet, I've already given the players the opportunity to win at least 7-8 exemptions. Do you think I should reduce the number of exemptions in play, should I make another English Mole story ? Nice theories about Toad and Bootler ! ^^ Thank you for your reviews too ! ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players were inside King Boo's Mansion, and had to get to the throne room. In order to do that, they had to go through different deadly rooms. Although the rooms in themselves were not dangerous, as they were purely illusions, the players would lose five thousand coins and be eliminated from the challenge if they fell into a trap. Worth thirty thousand coins at first, the challenge's value quickly dropped to fifteen thousand coins as Jojora, Noki and Bootler all succumbed to the traps. Mario was the one who led the team to victory, having found out the correct path out of the labyrinth formed by the rooms. Mario was offered an exemption but declined it, showing true team spirit. After that, the players were shocked to learn that one of them would go home during the night and scrambled to stay in the game, most of them recollecting their thoughts. However, it was later revealed that Monty Mole had lied and that the players had only taken the first part of their quiz. Another mission is coming their way, will the players be able to win it?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

18 : Sleuthing Skills

The sun rose more quickly than ever, or so it seemed for the players, whose night had been particularly short. The three survivors were more tired than the others, but surprisingly, Birdo was the first to get up.

**Birdo** : Saying that last night was short is an understatement. I didn't fall asleep until it was one or two in the morning. I was actually nervous about the execution... I know that I don't particularly have to worry, since I have an exemption, but it had me thinking... Who is the Mole? Try I as might, I still haven't found out the answer to that question. And... It's scary. It's scary to think that we're past the halfway point and we've no definite suspect.

Birdo freshened up and put on her trademark red bow on her head. She also took her huge diamond ring and told Noki in a whisper that it was nearly time to wake up. Noki nodded her head slowly but quickly slipped back under her blanket, avoiding the light coming from the sun.

Birdo closed the door carefully and made her way to the lobby, where she found Monty Mole, sipping a cup of tea. "Hi Monty!" she greeted energetically.

**Birdo** : You know how it's strange, when, sometimes, you feel so tired that you're actually in shape? That's what happened to me this morning.

Monty Mole only replied by motioning to the table on his right. Birdo looked puzzled at first, but she shrugged it off, being accustomed to the host's strange behavior, and examined the table. "Is that a train?"

"Well, what do you think it is?" smiled Monty Mole behind a book entitled The Pennington Miles.

Birdo chuckled. "It's definitely a train. But what does that have to do with anything? That was my question."

"Eh, you'll see. Feel free to check it up closely," responded the host. Birdo sent him a look of confusion and complied, manipulating the train in her hands, trying to find out the meaning of its presence in the lobby.

**Birdo** : You never know what to expect in this game, so, in a way, I was preparing myself for the next challenge.

"Well, I hope the others will hurry up a little, we don't have all day," Monty Mole mostly stated to himself.

…

A little while later, everyone sat around the lunch table, happily chatting with each other. The previous night had been particularly eventful for them all, except for the Mole, that is, and they were more ready than ever to play to the best of their abilities.

"Mmmh, that is exquisite!" announced Bootler. "What is it?"

Monty Mole looked at him carefully. "I'm not sure you want to know that... It might be good, true, but it's made with some nasty things."

Bootler made a face and pushed away his plate. "I think that I am done for today." The others laughed at him.

"Come on Bootler, you have to enjoy yourself once in a while! I'm sure Monty was kidding, right?" reassured Noki.

"No, I wasn't. Poutine is a dish known for being gross, but good when you taste it."

"Oh," paused Noki. "Well, I'm not sure I want to eat anymore," she continued as she mimicked Bootler.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Well, more for me! You guys are cowards. It's food and it's edible, you can eat it, you know?"

"Yeah, right. I personally think this food's only use is to have food fights, but that's only me," chimed in Toad.

"So, what will we be doing today?" asked Birdo, changing the topic of discussion.

"I'm interested myself," Mario supported her.

"Well, I'm not sure," Monty Mole replied enigmatically. "I'd rather ask you all a question, if it's okay with you."

He received various answers, going from 'Sure!' to 'Whatever.' and concluded that the players agreed to his proposal. "Well, you've all known each other for a while now. I wanted you to tell me who you thought was the more honest player."

**Jojora** : I already smell something fishy and let me tell you that it really smells.

"It depends. Game-wise or life-wise?" inquired Toad. "They are different things, after all. I mean, I don't trust Jojora one bit in this game, but I know for a fact that she isn't like that outside of it."

"That's a good remark, Toad, but I don't really have an answer for you. I just want you to tell me who you think is the most trustworthy person here," repeated the host, a smile on his lips. "Who wants to start?"

"What, we have to tell it in front of everyone else?" questioned a bewildered Birdo. Monty Mole nodded.

"Well, I might as well start," Mario resigned himself. "That's a really hard question, but if I had to entrust someone with a secret, I would pick Bootler. Not only is he calm and collected, but his personality inspires me confidence. And I'm not saying that just because he's the oldest, in case you were wondering."

"My turn!" exclaimed Toad. "I think the person I would trust the most is Mario, just because you know, he's our hero. Not to mention that he's a very good friend!"

"It's obvious who everyone will choose. C'mon, Mario's the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. He has to be the most honest person of the world. Well, except for Peach, maybe," added Birdo in an afterthought. "I think Mario is the honestest player."

"As much as I would like to disagree with everyone else, I have to say Mario," replied Jojora.

"Yes, me too! I remembered how he cleaned our isle and restored the Shine Gate! Just for that, I think Mario is a honest person."

"At this point, my words will seem like I am bangwagoning, but it is not the case. I also think that Mario is definitely someone that you can trust. He may have had his suspicious moments throughout the game, but do note that we all have. I am not saying that he is not the Mole, but he is honest."

**Mario** : I was honestly surprised at the results of Monty's question. I never thought they thought I was that great... To be hon-I mean, to tell the truth, I was expecting them to treat me like an equal but... I guess you can never have a break, can you? Oh, but I'm not complaining. Okay, I'm complaining a little. Because it means that my notoriety is a double-edged sword.

Monty Mole nodded at the results. "Well, it seems like everyone deems you as the honestest player, thus, you will have a special role in today's challenge."

"Wait, you never said that the person everyone chose would have a special role," interrupted Birdo, dumbfounded.

**Noki** : I should have known that something was up when he started questioning us... There's _always_ something up with him. Except that time, when he asked us who we wanted out of the game.

"Now I did," responded Monty Mole, a sly smile on his face. "The challenge will start as soon as everyone has finished lunch."

As soon as Monty Mole said those words, the players ate in silence, very quickly. They were more than ready to tackle their next mission, anxiousness and excitement building in their inside. However one of them was faking those feelings. That person knew exactly what was awaiting them, for they were the Mole...

…

Once again, Monty Mole led the little group to Square Pipe. There, they went through Gate Eight causing a few players to groan. "Why the long face?"

"We've been here yesterday," pointed out Mario.

"But we're going to a totally different place today. Don't forget that there are many connections to the Party Worlds here. We won't go anywhere near King Boo's Mansion today, that I can assure you of."

"That's a relief. I didn't like it," told them Noki.

"Meh, I found his mansion classy. A bit old, sure, and not as beautiful as Joke End's perfect architecture, but still classy," stated Jojora while shrugging.

"Here you go! This pipe!"

"Sweet, you didn't lie after all!" cheered Noki.

"Did I ever lie to you guys?" chuckled the host.

"As a matter of fact, you did," remarked Bootler, joining him in his laughter. "Before we enter this pipe, I will ask the dreaded question. Do we have to do some cosplay today?"

"None of you will have to, except for Mario! Mario, don't take too long or we'll leave you behind!" teased Monty Mole.

"I'll try!" smiled the plumber dressed in red.

"See you later!" waved Noki politely.

…

Monty Mole and the players minus Mario, who was currently busy putting on a costume, jumped out of a warp pipe and looked at their surroundings. From afar, they distinguished blue mountains -on top of which seemed to be everlasting snow- so high that their peaks melted away into the sky. Beautiful green grass swayed gently thanks to the cool breeze generated by the movement of the grand Perplex Express. The players were in awe at that amazing sight.

**Bootler** : You will not see me often excited, that is for sure. But I have always wanted to ride in one of those magnificent trains. It is a dream becoming true. I do not go out much often as I have duties I must attend to most of the time.

**Toad** : Okay, that was just awesome! I can't believe I'll ride in the Perplex Express! We've never really gone inside the real Perplex Express during our parties. It was a replica. I kind of understand them, though. I mean, our parties can be a little...hectic, sometimes.

"Wow... That's so cool!" cheered Noki excitedly.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "It's a train. I don't see why everyone here is super excited, but whatever."

"It isn't any train. I mean, this one is full of surprises," Toad retorted enigmatically.

"Let's focus, people!" Monty Mole interrupted immediately. "I need to explain the rules before Mario comes here, or else it will jeopardize your chances to get an exemption!" The word 'exemption' was enough to silence them all. "Now that I have your full attention, let's proceed to the rules of your challenge."

"Yes, that would be great!" replied Bootler.

"This mission is called 'Jewelry Robbery'. I'll start by explaining Mario's role, it will be easier that way. Mario will play the role of the detective. He will have to interrogate everyone as well as inspect the train to find out who, out of the five of you is most likely the thief. If he guesses correctly, he wins an exemption and adds twenty thousand coins into the pot."

"That sucks! Why would we be interested by that mission if only Mario can win an exemption?" asked Jojora, unnerved.

"Patience, I'm going to explain that point. If nobody decides to steal Holly Koopa's jewel, which is the color of an exemption, then the money and the exemption will be lost."

"So what you mean is that we have to steal this 'jewel'? It's compulsory, we don't have any other choice?" questioned Birdo.

"Correct, unless you want to lose everything. Now, I'm going to assume that one of you steals the exemption and that Mario picked the wrong person as the robber. You will lose twenty thousand coins, but the person who has the jewel gets to keep it, ensuring their safety for this Episode."

Each player sent the others looks of uncertainty. An exemption at this stage of the game was crucial, they were not sure they would play fair to obtain it.

"Just so you know, you will have a total of two hours to accomplish your deed. Note that you will also have to hide the jewel somewhere in the train. At the end of the two hours, we'll release Mario from the conductor's car, and he will have one hour to interrogate everyone and look for clues. You should be careful, as he can also question the passengers."

"That doesn't seem easy," noticed Toad.

**Jojora** : I was glad that it was Mario who was selected by us, because he's not the type to sabotage. I still think someone will screw that mission up, though. Looking at their faces, I knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Before you enter this train, let me give you some explanations about its structure. Mario will be confined to the first two cars ; the locomotive and the kitchen car. He won't be able to go to the others car, for I will tell him that the mission concerns something totally unrelated to the actual mission," declared Monty.

"You're such a liar!" giggled Noki heartily.

"Hey, this game is all about deceit!" Monty Mole defended himself, raising his hands in the air. "Anyway, this train is particular, but I'll let you find out about that yourself. The first car, starting from the end, contains the passengers in economy class. It's also where your seats are. The next car contains the shopping area. You could always bring a souvenir or two home. After the shopping area comes the restaurant car. And finally, last but not least, after the restaurant car comes the first class car where Holly Koopa is located," detailed the host.

"Thank goodness Mario will be occupied, that will make the challenge ten times easier since he will not be able to know who took the exemption," smiled Bootler.

"As long as you never walk to him with an exemption in your hands, that is," completed Monty Mole. "I think now is a good time to start your challenge, isn't it?" The players nodded and let Monty Mole show them the way. Mario arrived shortly afterward to receive his own instructions.

**Mario** : I felt uneasy about this mission, since I was kind of unaware of what the others were doing. Thankfully, they would succeed...

…

Toad was the first to set foot in the grand economy class car. He was astonished to see that the true Perplex Express was nowhere near the same as the one he and his friends had used during their previous parties. The material used to make the entire train was of an exceptional quality and the whole vehicle was so clean it sparkled.

"That's amazing!" daydreamed Noki, making her way to the seats. "I wish I could be able to afford a billet. Outside of the game, I mean."

"Maybe you will, you never know," shrugged Toad. Noki shook her head.

"Well, I know I won't..."

Jojora sat in a seat and looked closely at her surroundings. "I really thought it would be better... I mean, isn't that supposed to be something luxurious?"

"What did you expect?" asked Bootler, somewhat abruptly. "This is a train, not a castle. You cannot compare incomparable things. I suppose you have never gone inside a train, or have you?"

"Of course I did! But I really don't see why I should be, like, totally super excited because, it's, like, super awesome!" Jojora replied, her voice mimicking that of a hyper teenager. "You can't even sleep in that train. There's nothing special."

Birdo sat with Noki, admiring the scenery. "Still, you probably won't get to board this train again in your life. If I were you, I would enjoy the ride while it lasts."

"Except that you aren't me and that I have another business to attend to. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Jojora exited the economy class car, leaving the four other players by themselves.

**Noki** : Sometimes, I really think that this adventure would be ten times better if Jojora wasn't part of it. Of course, you will never see me telling her that because it would be plain rude and inappropriate but that's what mostly everyone thinks and- Wait a minute, you're not recording, are you?

**Bootler** : As bad as Jojora can be, you have to admit that she is a very good player. Well, maybe I am mistaken when I am saying that, as she could very well be a good Mole, however, you cannot deny that she has been solely focused on this game since its very beginning.

"Mole-ish business, I bet," threw in Toad. The four players sent each other awkward looks.

"The exemption!" yelled Noki in realization. One after another, the four players rushed to the door in hopes that they would still be able to win the exemption.

…

**Jojora** : Actually, I didn't plan on stealing that jewel right away, because otherwise, the others would know that I was the thief and I could kiss it farewell. I just gave them enough incentive to look for it. That way I wouldn't be the only suspect.

**Toad** : I was pretty sure there would be some sabotage during that mission. Especially since it involved an exemption. However, I couldn't particularly blame the others for acting Mole-ish as I was also aiming to win that exemption.

Jojora scanned the shopping area with her eyes, trying to find a hiding place for the jewel she wanted to claim as her own. She noticed small holes near one of the shops and assumed that she could hide it there. Looking around the car, she noticed that the shopkeepers were busy because of the customers.

"Well, it will be easier that way..."

She did not waste time and made her way to the next car hastily. She was already gone when the other four entered the shopping area. Some of them immediately chased after Jojora while Birdo decided to stay behind.

**Birdo** : I highly doubted that the others would be able to steal Holly Koopa's jewel in one try, so I told myself that I could take my time. Plus, unlike the others, I already have an exemption. I don't need two of these things now, do I?

Taking her time looking at the merchandise, her eyes came across a sheet of paper which was stuck on the wall and seemed oddly out of place. "Hey, what is that?" she asked the nearest shopkeeper, who was named Thriff.T.

"That? Why, it's a schedule informing the passengers of the times during when the cars move around. See, every half a hour, someone on this train - I don't exactly know who it is but I'm kind of assuming that it's the conductor – pushes a button, triggering a switch of the cars. We often hold organized activities which consist in figuring out who has supposedly killed someone. It's all fake, of course, but it entertains the passengers. Not to mention that the person who cleared the mystery leaves with a price!" explained the lively Toad.

"I see... Can I have a copy? That might come in handy," explained the pink dinosaur.

Farther ahead were Bootler, Toad and Noki. All of them were in the restaurant car, eying each other warily. As they were going to enter the first class car, someone called Toad. It was a Toadette with two purple pigtails and pink hearts on her cap. "Toad! What are you doing here? It's been centuries!"

"What the- Waitress? What are _you_ doing here?" asked a baffled Toad. "I thought you worked for Don Pianta in the Excess Express!"

"I dunno," she replied with a giggle. Toad rolled his eyes.

"Of course you know. Spill the beans."

"Fine. Well, you see, the Don is kinda busy renovating his train, so he found us jobs here and there. Not that I needed his help, every customer seems to like me!" she laughed.

**Toad** : Not for her efficiency, that's for sure.

"Oh, I see. I'm playing in a game, you see. The Mole. You know what's that?"

"Oh yeah! I've been contacted by some weird guy... I think his name was... I don't remember. Monty Python?"

"Monty Mole," Toad corrected.

"Yeah right. Something's gonna happen today, but I forgot what it is."

"You're still as absent-minded as the last time I saw you. We're having a challenge right now, so I can't talk to you, plus I'm supposed to play a game so... I won't be able to contact you for a while. Maybe I'll see you later if we're lucky, but if we don't, take care!" Toad told her quickly before leaving. Noki was spying on them.

**Noki** : I find it really strange that Toad knew that girl. For all we know, maybe she has been hired by the producers to help him sabotage the challenge. Toad isn't my biggest suspect, but I wouldn't trust him entirely, to be honest with you all. Although, if I had to tell you the entire truth, I would say that we're all suspicious in our own ways...

In the last car, the first class one, Bootler and Jojora were looking for Holly Koopa and her jewel. They found her in the middle of the car, happily eating a sweet. Holly Koopa looked like a rather wealthy Koopa, wearing an expensive white hat which protected her from the sun, bright pink shoes as well as an expensive ring on her right hand. She was particularly coquette. On the table at which she was seated was an expensive emerald, the jewel the players needed to steal in order to win the money or a possible exemption.

Bootler floated around, talking to people while Jojora immediately headed back to the second class car.

**Bootler** : I needed a strategy. I could not simply wait for her to leave and steal her emerald afterward.

"Good afternoon, my good sir," Bootler addressed a Shy Guy. "May I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, fire away," responded his interlocutor.

"Are you a habitue?" questioned the butler.

"Yep I am!"

"Would you tell me if that Holly Koopa has a weakness you are aware of? I am playing a game which consist in stealing her emerald and I am in a dire need of information. How may I distract her long enough so that I am able to take her jewel and hide it somewhere?" interrogated the Boo.

"I know that she likes sweets but that's about it. That's the only thing that would make her move from her seat. That or natural needs."

"Thank you very much, you were very helpful!"

…

Remaining Time : 1:33:07

A little while later, Jojora hid in the first class car, trying to find a good way to steal the emerald. Unfortunately for her, a worker found her suspicious and told her to go away from there. She went to the restaurant and found almost everyone there, with the exception of Bootler.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to look for ways to grab that girl's jewel!" she reproached, annoyed.

"We're relaxing, can't you see it?" retorted Toad. "Each of us has been playing a different game from the beginning, I don't see why we should follow your orders."

"Whatever. See you at the reunion show, guys." She left without saying anything else.

"Right, see ya on the bench of losers!" whispered Toad, which made Birdo and Noki laugh.

"I really hope she'll get executed next," told them Birdo. Toad nodded in approval.

"Yeah. There's a difference between playing the game and being an ass." It was Noki's turn to agree.

"Pauline was a good player, always focused. But she wasn't bad compared to Jojora," she confirmed.

"The worst being that she could very well be the Mole," Birdo sighed.

**Toad** : Noki and Birdo are really close, and that, since the beginning of the game. I actually wouldn't be surprised if one of them was using the other to look less suspicious.

As to Bootler, he was in the car where Thriff.T sold his goods, interrogating him and writing down some information as the talkative Toad let his tongue loose.

…

During that time, Mario was in the kitchen and followed Monty Mole's instructions. He had been told that he needed to help the cooks prepare the meals that the passengers ordered and that his sole part of the mission would determine whether or not they would proceed to its second phase.

**Mario** : I didn't know what the others were doing. All I knew was that I had a very important job to do, so I did it to the best of my ability.

...

Remaining Time : 1:29:47

Bootler wanted to go back to the first class car but the door he was facing did not want to let him pass. Puzzled at first, Bootler quickly realized that the cars were switching positions.

"I see... That is what it does. I wonder how much that will affect the mission," murmured to himself the ghost.

When the door deigned to open itself, Bootler found himself in the economy class car.

**Bootler** : That was certainly frustrating. How could one devise a plan to steal the exemption without knowing exactly how everything would go? It was impossible, in my honest opinion.

He walked to the next door, opened it and found himself in the restaurant. Farther ahead was the kitchen and its access was restricted. Naturally, he deduced that the first class car was the first car. He wrote it on a piece of paper and decided to talk to the staff.

Toad was located in the first class car, with Jojora. They were both spying on each other and could not do much while the other was here. Jojora groaned and left the car, leaving Toad all alone. He was trying to come up with a plan.

"I can't bribe anyone here because they'd think that I'm a thief or something... I could steal the emerald, but I would need to be alone, otherwise I might be caught," he reasoned.

Jojora went back to the shop and saw Noki there, talking to an employee and buying what looked like a souvenir or two. She shrugged and walked to the economy class car where she noticed Birdo, reading a magazine.

**Jojora** : This challenge sucked. There were just too many people to make a move. I mean, sure, we would get the money, but hello! An exemption is much more important than twenty thousand coins. At least, in my opinion. Oh, and to those who think that I actually meant what I said during the first challenge of this episode. Let me tell you that I lied. I didn't get the exemption and I'm not stupid enough to let another one go away just because I promised something to some people.

…

Remaining Time : 1:04:15

The coast was clear. A lone figure stood up next to Holly Koopa and began to fill their glass with water, very slowly and then gulped it down in one go. They repeated that action a few times before Holly Koopa rose urgently from her seat and raced to the bathroom.

The player who did it chuckled a little. "Way too easy..."

They glanced around the room and picked the emerald when no one looked at them. After that, they exited the car and smashed the emergency alarm which made a loud noise, alerting everyone that something was wrong. Amidst the panic, the thief took their time and hid the jewel where no one would supposedly look for it, and waited patiently for the cars to switch position, before joining the crowd.

Soon, it would be Mario's time to uncover the truth lying behind that mystery.

* * *

**Next time, it really is the fifth execution, so stay tuned ! ^^**

**Also, I read this chapter another time before submitting it, so you should find less mistakes (hopefully). If you find a recurrent mistake, please mention it in a review, it would be most appreciated. ^^  
**


	19. A Criminal Execution

**Champ (1)** : Yep, I'm definitely going to put a poll on my profile, thanks for your advice ! ^^

**Champ (2)** : You found the chance time unfair? I mean, sure, in the end it comes down to who's the luckiest of the four chosen players, but they all had a chance to win an exemption, so... I'm glad that you liked the 'Mansion Nightmare' Challenge ! ^^

**Champ (3)** : Haha, so you saw the twist ! :p And lol about Jojora ! Sorry, I can't really say a thing about your suspicions, though. ^^

**Champ (4)** : Thanks ! I'm trying my best in order to erase every little mistakes I can make. However, sometimes my wording is bizarre... I admit. Nice suspicions and thank you for your reviews ! ^^ I really appreciate it. ^^

**Tails-is-Pwnage** : Lol TIP ! I actually laughed when I saw your review !

**TIP (2)** : Well, Yoshi-is-Pwnage could be your new username, should you want to change it. :p Thanks for your reviews !

**TheGreatAdvenger** : Haha, yeah, this story is kind of long. Take your time ! ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players had been asked who they thought was the honestest person on the show. Mario was selected unanimously and as such, he had a special role for their next challenge. Speaking of challenge, the six remaining contestants had been brought to the fancy Perplex Express, a word-wide known train, where they would have the opportunity to gain the final exemption of Episode Five. Monty Mole explained to the players, minus Mario, that they would have to steal a jewel from the famous Holly Koopa to win the exemption or the money. He also told them that it would be Mario's job to determine who was the thief. If Mario was correct, he would claim the exemption as his and add twenty thousand coins to the pot. However, Monty Mole added that if Mario was wrong, the thief would obtain the exemption. The players, except for Birdo, who was exempted, were all driven by fear and sought to obtain the exemption. Noki, Toad, Jojora, Bootler, Birdo ; one of them had successfully stolen the emerald. Will Mario be able to uncover the identity of the thief?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

19 : A Criminal Execution

"Warning! Warning! This is not an exercise! Please remain calm and exit the train! Warning! Warning! This is not an exercise! Please remain calm and exit the train!" A voice blared out of the intercoms.

**Mario** : Wow, that was really frightening! I really thought there was an emergency! Thank goodness it was only part of the challenge.

The passengers were in a uproar, but did as they were told. They escaped quickly and waited, expecting bad news. A little group detached itself from the loud crowd. The leader of that group was Monty Mole.

"Well, we're two members short. Where are Birdo and Toad, might I ask?" inquired the host.

"Probably dying in the train," Jojora replied sarcastically. Mario chuckled a little while Noki shook her head strongly. "What? It's not like the train was on fire or anything."

"I asked Birdo to look for Toad, since we didn't see him anywhere," the blue shelled girl replied. Monty Mole nodded at her.

"Why didn't you go look for him yourself if you cared that much?" questioned Jojora. Noki scowled at her but did not answer.

**Jojora** : What if I'm harsh? At least I make sense. There was no reason for Noki to ask someone else to look for Toad if she was worried. Speaking about Toad, where was he? Probably hiding someone's emerald, I bet.

"May I ask what happened to the train?" inquired Bootler. "If it was no exercise, I suppose that something serious has happened. Am I wrong?"

"Yeah," agreed Mario. "I doubt they would sound their own alarm if nothing was wrong. Something must have happened!"

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Chill, Mario, it's not hero time."

A few minutes later, Toad exited the train. He noticed the group and made his way toward them. "Hey guys! Sorry, I was in the bathroom but the door wouldn't bulge, so I was kind of stuck." He noticed the astounded faces of the players and Monty Mole and added quickly, "I know it's lame, you don't need to stare at me like that..."

"You sure do have an history with bathrooms," chuckled Bootler, making reference to the last mission of the fourth episode. Everyone laughed with him, even Toad.

Two minutes later, a frantic Birdo appeared in their field of vision. She walked toward them, a frown on her face. "Toad, I looked for you everywhere on the train! Where were you? We were mad worried!" she reproached, unnerved.

"He was dying in the bathroom," replied Jojora, stifling a laughter, which prompted Toad to send her a death glare. Birdo was mostly confused at their exchange, thankfully, Mario came to her rescue.

"Apparently, Toad was locked in the men's bathroom."

Birdo paused for a moment and put her hand on her forehead. "Wow, I feel so dumb. I only checked the females' bathroom, no wonder I didn't find him there." Once again, laughter erupted from the group.

**Bootler** : I realized that Birdo and Toad were often sticking their foot in their mouth, which, if one of them was the Mole, could be used as a justification for their acts. It would be the perfect excuse, since we know it is their personality.

**Noki** : It's good to be able to laugh once in a while, especially in a game as stressful as this one. I kind of suspect Toad of being the thief though... His excuse wasn't- Well, he didn't convince me, that's all.

"What happened anyway?" asked the mushroom, wondering why the alarm had been sounded.

"That's what we're all wondering," replied Jojora. "I think Monty might have an answer, though." They all turned their head toward Monty Mole who coughed.

"I suppose I could explain... Although we still have time..."

"What are you mumbling to yourself?" questioned Birdo, her arms crossed.

"Fine, I'll explain!" resigned himself the host. "Mario, you have successfully completed your part of the challenge, so we'll now move on to the second part of the challenge." Mario nodded, feeling pleased with himself. "Second part which has nothing to do with what you did previously, since you were tricked into believing that helping the cooks would serve a purpose while the only use of the 'mission' was to drive you apart from the group," explained the host in one go.

They all laughed when they saw Mario's bewildered expression. "Did I help the cooks for...nothing?" he attempted.

"Yes, I'm afraid you did," smiled the host. "But fear not, as it was necessary. You see, the other five had two hours to steal an emerald from Holly Koopa. I was informed by the crew that one of them successfully stole the jewel and your job is to determine who did it." Mario narrowed his eyes and looked at the other five, one after another.

"How am I supposed to find out who did it? I mean, is this challenge all about luck or something?"

"Not really," answered Toad.

"As Toad said, victory does not rely on your luck, but rather, on your sleuthing skills. Do you have what it takes to solve a mystery?" Monty Mole questioned enigmatically.

"Oh joy, it's the Excess Express all over again," commented Mario while chuckling, remembering one of his past adventures.

"This mission, called 'Jewelry Robbery' is worth twenty thousand coins. Oh, and did I forget to mention that you can win the last exemption of this episode if you discover who's the culprit?"

"This mission seems really cool! I can win an exemption _and_ the money!" cheered Mario excitedly.

"Well, yes. However, there is something you need to be aware of. These five players, over here, also have a shot at winning an exemption. I promised them that if they were able to steal the emerald and pull the wool over your eyes, they would be safe for tonight's execution," continued Monty Mole.

"More deceiving, huh? Well, I guess I should have expected something like that."

"You have one hour to investigate, feel free to ask whatever you want to the passengers and your fellow players, but remember that they probably won't tell you the entire truth. The one hour starts as soon as we're going back into the train. Any question?"

"No, I think I'm good. I'm ready to get started!"

**Bootler** : A mystery within a mystery. Oh, the irony.

"The train is ready to depart!" announced the conductor. "All aboard!"

…

**Mario** : From what I know, a good investigation always start with the interrogation of the victim. You first need to gather information and then connect the pieces of the mystery together thanks to logic, to get new facts or hypotheses.

Mario went to the first class car, where Holly Koopa was seated, as always. He quickly spotted her and walked to her, a smile on his face. "Hello there!" he greeted. "I am Mario, a player of the Mole. We've already met each other during Mario Parties, do you remember?"

"Why yes, I sure do! I can't forget that formidable time I had watching you and your friends perform those crazy things during your games. It was quite a sight! Oh, where are my manners, I totally forgot to greet you. Hello Mario!" she stated enthusiastically.

"We'd be happy to have you as a player, next time we host one. I'll make sure someone send you an invitation."

"Thank you, I appreciate it! However, I think you are the detective of that game that Monty Mole informed me of, aren't you? If so, please ask what you want, I am at your entire disposition," replied the rich Koopa.

"Okay, I have a few questions for you. I need you to tell me when, approximately, your jewel was stolen," told her Mario.

"I don't know, but I assume it was either just before the alarm was sounded or during the time everyone was trying to get out of the car," answered Holly.

Mario paused for a moment. "So... You don't know for sure... Mmh... Hey, wait. Why do you think the emerald was stolen during that rather short lapse of time? I mean, you don't know exactly when it was stolen, but you were still quite specific. So... Could you tell why you think it was then?"

"I can. If I recall correctly, I left my seat to go to the bathroom a few minutes before the alarm was sounded. I needed to satisfy my natural needs if you see what I mean."

Mario fell silent. "That's still highly coincidental... You leaving to the bathroom just before the alarm was sounded, I mean. Did something happen just before you left? Or did something made you go to the restroom?"

Now, it was Holly's time to be silent. Apparently, she was thinking hard. Suddenly, she frowned and spoke up. "Now that you mentioned it... I think someone was drinking a lot next to me. It was the sound of the water which made me go to the bathroom. If I remember correctly, that person filled their glass at least four or five times."

"Did you happen to catch a glimpse of that person?" inquired Mario, frowning more than ever.

"Unfortunately, no. Do you think it could be the thief?"

"To be hon- I mean, to tell you the entire truth, that's what I think. Well, I'd love to discuss more with you, but I'm timed, so I need to find out who it is, and quickly. So... Bye!" Mario excused himself.

Afterward, he proceeded to question the people who were in the same car as Holly Koopa, but most of them either did not pay attention or simply did not know anything. However, when Mario asked a particular Shy Guy, he received some information.

"I remember something," he started, looking in Mario's eyes. "There was this Boo, who asked me a way to distract Holly. I told him that, as far as I knew, only sweets were her weakness."

Mario rubbed his chin. "Was he excessively polite?"

"He seemed kind of old-fashioned," testified the Shy Guy.

"Thank you very much for your time!"

**Mario** : I had a lead, but not enough information to point fingers. One hour is a short time, I just hoped I could play to the best of my ability.

…

Jojora, Toad, Bootler and Noki were all located in the economy class car, waiting for Mario to finish his task. Most of them were bored since they could not do much during that time. Jojora was the first to break the ice.

"Where's Birdo? I thought she was here." Noki glanced at her.

"She said that she was going to help Mario, or something along those lines," explained the inhabitant of Isle Delfino.

"I guess we can safely assume that we'll lose the mission then," snickered the blue fairy.

Toad shook his head. "I don't get why you're so negative. Plus, what did Birdo do to you? I mean, you're so bitter when you talk about her... It's strange."

Jojora sighed. "It's not about what she did to me, but what she did to the pot that makes me mad. And don't you dare defend her. She's the one who made us lose the most money," pointed out Jojora.

"Still, it's only a game," retorted Toad. "Also, I like her ten times better as the Mole than you as a player, assuming you are a player and her the Mole." Jojora scoffed.

"It's only a game? I doubt you'd say that in front of the final quiz, when you are a few questions away from winning that whole game, as well as the money which comes with victory. Do I need to remind you that more than one hundred coins is at stake?"

"Well, it won't make a difference. At least to me. I've come here for the experience," told her Toad. Bootler looked up from his book.

"I came here because Milady forced me to do so. She said, and I am quoting her, "It's not sane for you to always worry about me. I thought you needed to enjoy yourself for once, so I signed you up for the Mole. And you will compete in it, whether you like it or not. That is an order."." When he finished, the other three started to laugh and Bootler blushed. "Well, how did you end up on that show?"

"You know that I'm a sculptor, right?" Jojora groaned a little. "It's a fantastic job, really. However, because I was always trying to perfect my art, I didn't enjoy my life. I'm a perfectionist and I just can't accept something okay. My sculptures need to be great."

Toad smiled a little. "I think I understand what you mean. You always want to be the best in whatever thing you're doing."

Jojora nodded. "Exactly. I can't help it, it's just who I am. Anyway, because of that, I quickly stopped going out and everything, because I was obsessed with my art. It was Chucklissa who first found out about that," she put a hand on her chin, recalling the moment. "Anyway, she thought that I needed a break and tried to keep me away from my job. From what I remember, she has always been a fan of that show, so when she found out that they were doing a third season, she immediately requested an audience with prince Peasley, a competitor of the second season. She asked him to put in a good word about my application into the show to Monty Mole. Prince Peasley has very good connections, and well, since he was a previous player, Monty Mole agreed to let me in the show."

"Wow... Well, that was interesting, I think I'll jot that down on my journal!" Toad exclaimed, quickly writing how Bootler and Jojora made it on the show.

**Toad** : It's always good to write down whatever new information you learn during the game. During the final quiz, they can ask you questions unrelated to the game. Like, in the first season, they asked if the Mole was an author. Nobody had ever mentioned that before. If it wasn't for the fact that someone found a clue on which was written 'Book', nobody would have scored a point.

"How did you come on this show, Toad?" inquired Bootler who had stopped reading.

Toad rubbed the back of his head and replied. "Well, there was a casting in Toadtown. I know that Mario was selected as soon as he presented himself to the producers, since he's really famous. I think that I wasn't supposed to be on the show... That's speculation but... Well, I was afraid not to be on it, so I asked both Mario and princess Peach to convince the producers to let me in."

Bootler chuckled a little. "And they say _I_ am a worrywart." Toad smiled at him.

"It's just that... Well, people know who I am since I'm part of the Mario crew, right? But compared to Mario, Peach, Bowser or Luigi, I am nothing," he sighed sadly. "Plus, the producers told me that they had already accepted someone which profile was almost the same as mine, that's why I wasn't feeling confident about my chances."

Now, it was Noki's turn to be surprised. "Really? I don't think you have the same profile as anyone else on this show. To me, everyone is different. But then again, the producers don't play the game, so maybe they look for diverse personalities."

**Jojora** : It was weird that everyone opened up like that and told the others how they managed to get on the show. I mean, at this stage of the game, we don't really talk about that kind of stuff anymore, it's more about strategy, suspicions and whatnot.

"As for myself, I was pretty lucky if I do say so myself. I was working on a plane that day, and it was delayed because of meteorological disturbances. Anyway, when we arrived at Isle Delfino, we were late. I also had to attend to certain things so I couldn't leave the plane immediately. When I left the airport, I realized that I had just missed the last boat going to Delfino Plaza, where I live," told Noki, replaying the event in her head. "Anyway, I was very annoyed at that time and well, my day had been stressful, so I began to cry. Someone heard me and they walked to me. It just so happened that this person was a representative of the Mole. He had also missed the boat and was also very mad, because he hadn't found anyone interesting for his show," she paused a little. "It's funny when you think about it. We were so bored that I asked him about his show and well, the concept interested me, so I told him that it seemed cool. He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked me about myself, so I told me who I was, what I was doing for a living and all of those things. After a while, he asked me whether I wanted to partake in the Mole or not. I was reluctant at first, because I have a job, but he managed to convince me, using very good arguments. And here I am today, I really owe him a lot."

During that time, the others had listened intently to her tale, incredulous. They could not believe how lucky Noki was. Some of them, remarked something, and they thought they would share it with us through a confessional.

**Bootler** : From what I learned, we all managed to have a place on the show thanks to our connection. Prince Peasley for Jojora, princess Bow for myself, Mario for Mario, princess Peach and Mario for Toad and I'm not sure about the others, but I can safely assume that Kooper obtained a place on the show thanks to his job and Flurrie because of her fame. Noki was the only one who managed to get on the show thanks to her personality which apparently interested the producers. When you know that it is the producers who choose who the Mole will be, it only makes me more wary of Noki.

**Noki** : When I learned that Toad wasn't supposed to be on the show, my suspicions of him decreased a lot. He still could be the Mole, but I highly doubt it. Especially since he told us that the producers weren't that interested in him. I know he could be lying but I really doubt it, as Mario could confirm us whether it is a lie or not.

…

Mario was seating at a table, interrogating an old acquaintance of his : Waitress. He had already seen her a few times during his adventures at Rogueport and although he was glad to see that she was doing great, he could not help but being anxious. She was known to be very forgetful, questioning her would not be a piece of cake.

"Hey Mario!" came Birdo's voice as the plumber tried not to scream because of Waitress' behavior. "I decided to help you with your investigation. I have nothing else to do anyway."

Mario got up from his chair, happy to see that someone had come to his rescue. However, he soon fell silent and gauged Birdo, frowning. "How am I supposed to know that you're not the one who stole Holly's emerald?"

Birdo rolled her eyes and showed him the exemption that she had previously won. "Now, tell me why I would need two of these things?" Mario nodded to her understandingly.

"Alright, I suppose I can trust you to an extent."

"Cool!" chirped Birdo. "Now, I have some useful information for you." She dug in her pocket and pull out a sheet of paper. "You must remember that this train is peculiar, but in case you forgot about it, I have something to refresh your mind." She gave him the copy of the schedule Thriff.T had previously given to her.

Mario dismissed it and asked Birdo what she meant, thinking it would be faster. "Or you could explain to me what is peculiar." Birdo looked shocked.

**Birdo** : Mario was the one who suggested we had a party on a replica of that train in the first place. The fact that he forgot about this train's particularity makes me think he could have used that to his advantage and lost the challenge for us.

"You mean you don't remember that this train's cars switch positions once in a while? Apparently, every thirty minutes, to be exact." Mario was hit with realization as he nodded to her.

"I totally forgot about that!" he exclaimed. "Shoot! I thought I could find out who stole the jewel by pinpointing everyone's position at the time of the theft..." Birdo smiled apologetically.

"I remember the position of the cars. Right before the crime, the cars were in that order : locomotive, kitchen, restaurant, economy class car, shopping area, first class car. And now it is locomotive, kitchen, first class car, shopping area, restaurant and economy class car."

**Mario** : I found it strange how Birdo knew that much when she wasn't even interested in getting an exemption in the first place.

"Okay," Mario trailed, a bit dubious. "Can I ask you where you were at the time of the theft?"

"I was in the economy class car, with Noki, as far as I remember." Mario raised an eyebrow as well as an objection.

"You went out of the shopping area went the sirens were sounded," he pointed out. Birdo crossed her arms.

"So? You only asked where I was when the jewel was stolen. I went to the shopping car just _before_ the cars were switched."

"You will understand that I'm cautious. You could have done it, after all." Birdo shook her head.

"It's impossible Mario. One, I already have an exemption. Two, at the end of the challenge, Monty Mole will announce who got the exemption. If I had stolen it, I would have had two of them, and if I was the Mole, I would have attracted to much attention to myself. As an actual player, I wouldn't have any motive to make us lose money."

"Alright, I understand your logic. Then, I can safely assume that Noki was where you claim she was."

"Yeah. Jojora was here to, so she can confirm that Noki was here. I wouldn't be able to lie about that even if I wanted to. So, hmmm... Any lead?" she questioned, as Mario wrote down something on his journal.

"I principally suspect Bootler and Toad. I don't know about Jojora yet, and you and Noki seem to be in the clear," Mario stated. "I don't know what I should do, seriously. Do I start interrogating the other four or do I simply ask more questions to the people around?"

Birdo shrugged. "It's up for you to decide. You have half a hour left though. Maybe you should interrogate the others and if you still have time after that, look for more clues," she offered.

**Birdo** : At that point, I hoped that we'd be successful. There wasn't much I could do.

…

Mario and Birdo entered the economy class car, after the cars had been switching place once again. Mario glanced at the other four contestants, as if he was reading them. He walked to them and asked Jojora to come with him, because he needed to discuss with her. The others looked at them in anticipation.

**Toad** : It was obvious that Mario was here to question us. We were all on edge because we knew that one of us had stolen the emerald, but we didn't know who. And we didn't want to be accused falsely either.

Jojora and Mario went at the other side of the car, so the others would not be able to hear what Mario would ask her.

"Jojora," he whispered. "I need you to tell me where you were just a few minutes before the alarm rang."

"To answer your question, I was in the economy class car, trying to find a way to steal Holly's jewel."

"Was there anyone else with you back then?"

"If I remember correctly, Noki was here," she thought aloud.

"So that means that Birdo was telling the truth!" Mario exclaimed giddily. Jojora raised an eyebrow.

"What did she tell you? I wouldn't trust her if I were you."

"She told me that you and Noki were in the economy class car, so she must have been there too! And she also helped me with discovering the position of the cars before and after the switch," declared the hero in red.

"Mmmh... Although I did see Noki, I don't remember having seen Birdo. You should be careful, Mario. She isn't as dumb as she lets it seem. She could play you."

"She also gave good arguments as to why it would be dumb for her to steal the exemption," counter-attacked Mario. Jojora raised her voice.

"I didn't say that she did it. I'm just pointing out...facts."

"Anything else you'd like to add?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I think that Noki didn't it. Actually, she couldn't do it as she was with me in the economy class car. However... Bootler was questioning plenty of people like mad and tried to steal her jewel. Also, it seemed to me that Toad was really trying hard to get that exemption," she finished.

**Mario** : We're talking about an exemption right now, so I'm not sure I can trust Jojora, even if she is my coalition partner. Overall, she didn't seem to lie, but I was suspicious of her as she clearly accused Birdo of lying.

"Please bring Noki here."

Like the other players, Noki was nervous. However, Mario reassured her.

"Relax Noki. I know that you didn't steal the emerald. I will only ask you a few questions. Just before the alarm was sounded, were Birdo and Jojora in the same car as you?"

"Yes, they were," she muttered, still a bit apprehensive about the whole challenge. Mario thanked her.

"That was all I wanted to ask you. Can you bring Bootler over here, please?" Noki nodded and left hastily.

**Mario** : Two players confirmed that she couldn't have done it, plus, she was one car away from the scene of the crime. I think that speaks for itself.

Bootler floated toward Mario, his face showing no sign of nervousness. The old Boo was perfectly calm, so calm that Mario considered letting him go without asking him any question for a brief instant.

"Please sit down, Bootler," Mario demanded politely. He waited for the ghost to be comfortably seated and asked his first question. "Bootler, where were you a few minutes before the alarm went off?"

Bootler coughed one time and replied. "I was located in the shopping area, which was, at the time, situated next to the first class car." The plumber was immediately cautious of the butler, something seemed off with him.

"So you admit that you were close to the scene of the crime. Do you want to go to the restroom?" Bootler responded by giving him a stunned look.

"Why no. I may be old, but I am not yet incontinent. I never thought you were this rude!" The old Boo seemed appalled.

Mario quickly apologized. "I'm sorry Bootler, that wasn't what I meant. I didn't imply anything, it was a question, nothing else."

"No, it is okay. You must have had a reason to ask me that question, even though I do wonder what that reason is," forgave Bootler. Mario smiled.

"I'm really sorry for that misunderstanding. That aside, you're still a suspect. I've asked people around, and they said that you had talked with them, questioning them about Holly Koopa. One of them even said that you were looking for her weakness, which is sweets."

Bootler nodded. "It is true. Those people did not lie. I had a plan, and I was going to put it into action, however, someone was faster than me so I was not able to steal the emerald, unfortunately."

Mario pondered for a moment. "Well then, I assume that you never left the shopping area, so you might be able to help me."

"Yes, I never left that car. What is it?"

"Did you see Birdo coming into the car one or two minutes before the alarm was sounded?" Mario besought cleverly.

"No, I did not see her."

"Thank you Bootler, please call Toad."

**Mario** : Was I suspicious of Bootler? Heck yes! He claimed that Birdo never went to the shopping area, but she did. She confirmed that Noki and Jojora were in the economy class car and if she had never gone to the shopping area, I don't see why she would say that she went there. It's a good thing that I know how to interrogate people.

The mushroom boy went toward Mario, a grin on his face. Mario returned the smile and prompted him to sit down.

"Hey Toad! I was wondering if you could tell me where you were during the time of the theft."

Toad's answer was immediate. "I was in the bathroom the whole time."

"Wait, you spent more than twenty minutes in the bathroom?"

"Well... When I washed my hands, I made quite a mess and my clothes were wet. I thought that people would think that I, err... I think that you see what I mean, right? Anyway, since I thought they would think that, I stayed in the bathroom to dry my clothes," Toad summed up.

"Did you see anyone when you were there?"

"Thank goodness I didn't! They would have probably thought that I was crazy," shuddered the gardener.

"I wondered if you could tell me where the bathroom is?"

Toad thought about if. "Well, it depends if it's urgent or not. If it is, you should go to the shopping area, that's where I was. If you can wait a little, you can go to the restaurant car. In all, there are two bathrooms."

Mario nodded slowly. "I see... Do you have anything else to say?"

"I didn't steal the emerald."

"Well, if that's all, you're free to go."

**Mario** : It would be a tough choice, but in the end, I knew that I would choose the most logical answer.

…

A few minutes later, the players and Monty Mole were together in the economy class car. A few nosy people were watching the group with interest, wondering what was going on. The host took a deep breath and addressed the players. "So, what did you think of that mission?"

"It was really hard," started Bootler. "It also seemed impossible to steal the emerald without being seen, however, it looks like someone managed to achieve that goal, somehow."

Noki agreed. "Yes, I really hope that Mario will make the right choice so we will be successful."

"It isn't like you're putting all the pressure on his shoulders," joked Toad, lightening the mood. Monty Mole also chuckled.

"You knew that this game would be harder as the time goes, when you signed up, though. And let me tell you that it will only get worse in the future. I'm sure that you will have no problem with that, you signed up for an adventure after all, right?" the host grinned as he pronounced those words. The six players looked at him and nodded, feeling confident about the next part of their adventure.

"Well then, Mario must now reveal to us the name of the players who stole Holly Koopa's emerald," the host started. "Mario, you can develop if you want to. The others, remain silent, please. You can't say a single word, otherwise you will be penalized, starting from now."

"Can I go now?" Mario inquired. Monty Mole gave him a positive response, so Mario explained his train of thought. "I'll start by explaining how the culprit managed to steal Holly Koopa's jewel. The thief made her go to the bathroom. How? Well, they took a glass and poured water into it. The noise made by the water distracted Holly."

"Ingenious!" noted Bootler. "Oh my bad!"

"Minus one thousand coins," stated Monty Mole.

**Birdo** : Oh, come on! You just had to do that Bootler, right?

**Toad** : Bootler's outburst was stupid. Monty Mole specifically told us that we couldn't talk during Mario's exposure. I think he did that to make himself look more suspicious, but I'm not sure. Am I in a coalition with the Mole?

**Bootler** : It was spontaneous. I never thought Monty Mole would deduct one thousand coins from our pot! Had I known that fact, I would have kept my mouth shut.

Mario put his hand on his forehead and resumed his explanation. "Anyway, I quickly found out that Noki, Jojora and Birdo were all innocent as they all, more or less, recalled having seen one or two of the others in the economy class car. Which means that the thief is either you Bootler, or you, Toad." Toad started to open his mouth but quickly remembered the rule and decided not to say anything.

"Bootler, you claimed that you never managed to put your plan into action, however, a kind Shy Guy managed to tell me that you asked him that her weakness was sweets long before the deed was done. Still to me, you were not the true culprit. Maybe you only omitted something when I questioned you. Which means that I think that Toad is the guilty party in this case. Why? Well, I'll ask you one question. Why did Toad take so much time in the bathroom? My guess is that after he stole the jewel, he quickly went to the bathroom to create himself an alibi. However, he had drunk too much water and needed to do his thing, you know what I mean?" Mario took a deep breath. "I'm still a bit skeptic as to why on earth Bootler didn't tell me that he saw Toad in the economy class car, but whatever. My choice is Toad. I valid it," he addressed Monty Mole.

Monty Mole looked solemn as he went to Toad. "Very well then. Toad, tell us where you hid Holly Koopa's emerald."

"I can talk?"

"Of course you can, Mario is done with his explanation and chose you."

"Well, he chose the wrong person," Toad sighed sadly.

A person stepped up. "I did it. Sorry Mario, looks like you've been played..."

"Yes," Noki voiced, "You have never considered than more than one person could lie. You even pointed out the flaws in your logic, but you were so sure of yourself that you chose to ignore them. It's a shame, truly, but it can't be helped."

"Wait, why would more than one person lie to me?" Mario asked, dumbfounded. Jojora scoffed.

"Well, what a surprise! See, I told you that you shouldn't have trust her. Now we pay the price of your naivete."

"Wait a second. If Birdo did it, then... That means that Noki also lied...?" Mario was confused at the whole situation. "And... Why would Birdo try to make us lose money?"

Jojora tapped her feet impatiently on the floor. "Well, isn't that obvious. Birdo doesn't need another exemption, but who else needs it?" Noki tried to hide her smile. Jojora saw that and immediately growled. "It was your plan, wasn't it?"

Monty Mole interrupted the discussion instantly, sensing that drama was coming at them at an alarming speed. "Birdo, would you be so kind as to give me the emerald you stole from Holly, please? I'll give you your second exemption as soon as I recover the jewel." Birdo acquiesced and took out the emerald from her seat.

"I hid it there while I was 'looking for' Toad," she grinned at the host, who, in exchange, gave her a green card. The pink dinosaur gave the green card to Noki who thanked her in response.

"Needless to say, this mission was a failure for everyone but Noki and presumably Birdo. Bootler's speaking actually reduces your team pot by one thousand coins," the host finished apologetically.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 0 – 1 000 = -1 000

Team Pot : 133 000 coins

"You will face your fifth execution tonight. This train will come back to where we depart in approximately thirty minutes, until then, I'll leave you alone." He was mostly ignored by the players who were scribbling on their journals like crazy.

**Jojora** : Everyone but me was suspicious during the challenge. Of course, everyone wanted that exemption, but come on! _My_ coalition partner decided that my advice wasn't really important which ultimately made us lose. Noki and Birdo _both_ lied and stole the emerald, so they made us lose too! Bootler didn't confirm that Toad was in the restroom, which could have changed the outcome of the challenge and he additionally made us lose one thousand coins because _he_ couldn't keep his mouth shut! And Toad? Well, he didn't do much to convince Mario that he wasn't the thief. What was he doing there anyway? I'm steaming mad right now! I have one chance out of four to make it to the next round, or even one out of three if the Mole isn't exempted! This challenge was an utter failure!

**Bootler** : To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. It is partially my fault, I was responsible for the loss of one thousand coins. However, I will note that Mario paid no heed to our claims. Jojora and I specifically told him that Birdo was not where she said she was. I cannot take blame for that. I must say, however, that I underestimated Noki. I will definitely keep an eye on her from now on.

**Toad** : Whoop-dee-freaking-doo! We lost! Again! Because of? Birdo! Again! I'm really angry right now, since we never had a chance to win an exemption in the first place. They tricked us! I can't believe Noki would do that! Well, actually, I can, since I've been suspecting her for quite a few episodes right now, but still...

**Mario** : Wow... I can't believe I've been fooled by them... Where did Noki's team spirit go? Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed in her. She may not be my prime suspect, but I know better than totally dismiss what she did. I'm also very scared. If I'm executed tonight, I'll hate myself forever since I could have taken the exemption when we were at King Boo's mansion. Even though I still feel like I made the right choice when I chose the money.

**Noki** : Thanks to Birdo, I managed to get that exemption. I felt really bad afterward, though, because I knew that the others wouldn't be so willing to trust me in the future... But if I hadn't taken the exemption, one of them would have! I know that all they wanted to do was take the exemption. They don't seem to understand that... Maybe they are not mad but jealous?

**Birdo** : I only did what Noki wanted me to do and if she asked me again, I'd still do it. She's my best friend on the show as well as a valuable ally. I can understand that the others are mad at us, but it's nothing a little bit of time won't heal. I'm feeling confident for the next episode.

…

Soon enough, the players stepped out of the train and went back the way they came, to Pipetown. They returned to their hotel with mixed feelings in mind. Some of them were extremely worried about that night's quiz, since they felt like they answered questions about the wrong players during the first one.

The three alliances chose to barricade themselves in their bedrooms, reflecting over the recent events. Only one alliance was feeling great, because both of its members knew that they were safe for another episode.

"It feels great to know that we're safe for another round!" cheered Birdo excitedly.

Noki smiled. "Yes, but each time someone gets executed, it makes me feel bad... I don't know why, I guess I just become attached to the players... Each time one of them face a red screen, I feel like I've taken their spots... Especially when Flurrie went home," she sighed. Birdo shrugged.

"Not like it was your fault for Flurrie. She decided to leave of her own accord," remembered Birdo. "Plus you can't just change how the game goes. In the end, we'll only be three. The Mole, the winner and the runner-up."

"Yes," Noki understood entirely. "I just can't help but feel like it's my fault, somehow. You know what I mean, right?"

"Of course. We can only hope that we're on the right track and that we'll make it to the finale, with the Mole," wished Birdo.

In Mario's and Jojora's room, the conversation was not as calm. Jojora was blaming Mario for their previous failure and told him that, as members of a coalition, they should at least be able to trust each other to an extent.

"Look, Jojora," Mario tried, "You're not particularly innocent yourself, and I'm one hundred percent sure that you were also going for the exemption, so I wasn't sure that I could trust you. Additionally, you hold some kind of grudge against Birdo. I just thought you blamed her because you didn't like her!"

Jojora gritted her teeth. "Okay, supposing that I'm not trustworthy, why in hell did you ignore Bootler? We were both telling you that Birdo wasn't where she said she was! You only listened to her because she's your friend! Or maybe you listened to Noki because she looks harmless. But whatever. The problem is that if you can't trust me, I can't trust you either and-"

Mario cut in. "Actually, I don't find them really innocent. I'm very suspicious of them. There's only one person that I trust and it's you." He took a deep breath. "Please, listen to me for a moment. If you had been in my shoes, would you have trusted the person who had no reason to steal an exemption or the persons who needed one?" Jojora rubbed her temples for a while, and glared at Mario once she was finished.

"Fine, I understand what you mean. But don't try to ignore what I say the next time or our coalition is over."

In Toad's and Bootler's room, the two coalition partners exchanged information to be prepared for the quiz. They were also trying to find out the meaning behind the clue they had found in Jojora's journal.

"I really hope that we won't be eliminated tonight!" Toad wished intently. Bootler agreed.

"Now that we have gone this far into the game, it would be truly devastating for any of us to be executed. I plan on making it to the next round, but I could very well meet my own demise," reflected the old Boo. "Let us take a look at the clue that we obtained thanks to Pauline."

"The line... 'Looks can be deceiving'... Do you think that it means that the Mole is innocent looking?" inquired Toad, still confused by the strange clue.

"I do not know, unfortunately. You see, this clue is very confusing. What does mean the line 'The worst traitor you have ever seen'? Does it mean that the Mole is doing a pitiful job, or that they are not subtle at all? It could even mean the total opposite of the hypotheses I just stated," Bootler scratched his chin. "I can safely assume that tomorrow will not be the day we find the message conveyed by this clue."

…

Later on, the players were reunited around the dinner table, eating and trying to have a normal conversation for once, when Monty Mole suddenly cleared his throat. That quickly silenced the players, who turned their head toward the host.

"I'm surprised that nobody saw the message left by the Mole..."

Jojora immediately focused. "Which message? I didn't see any message." Toad looked around the table and noticed a crumpled piece of paper. He reached for it and unfolded it.

"I think I got it! So, let's see," he hesitated for a moment, but everyone looked at him impatiently, urging him to start, so the player cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "'Hello, it's the Mole here! I've had a wonderful time seeing you struggle during this episode. Really, that was fun! But, you know, sometimes I'm wondering. Maybe it's really hard to be a genuine player. So yeah, I decided to leave you the key to this whole mystery, it will help you in the future. I don't know exactly when, but I'm sure it will help. Here you go!' and then there are numbers. 'Two, One, Four, Two, Two, Five, Five, Three, Six, Five,'" recited the mushroom.

"May I see it?" questioned Bootler politely. Toad nodded and gave him the clue he had found. "Well, there are numbers at the end of the clue, indeed. I do not know what they mean, but they could be relevant, somehow." He passed the note to Jojora.

"Meh, I doubt it," she declared while scrutinizing the clue. She then gave the note to Mario. He watched it without saying anything and passed it to Noki.

"Thanks. Maybe the clue is somewhere in the text?"

Finally, it was Birdo's turn to see the clue. "Well, not helping that much." She gave it to Monty Mole, who put it inside his pocket.

"Tonight, you will take the second part of your fifth questionnaire. I wish you luck, for you will need it," Monty Mole announced loudly.

Soon, Mario got up from his seat and followed Monty Mole in a secluded room, where he would take the test.

…

_1. What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Female_

_-Male_

**Mario** : I've changed suspects throughout the entire episode, and now that comes the time to choose, I'm not sure I made the right decision.

_2. During the mission 'Exemption Roulette', was the Mole eligible to win an exemption?_

_-No_

_-Yes_

_3. During the mission 'Mansion Nightmare', when did the Mole get eliminated?_

_-The Mole never got eliminated_

_-First_

_-Second_

_-Third_

**Birdo** : Jojora failed really early during that challenge, I thought it could have been sabotage. On the other hand, Mario was pretty suspicious himself. Especially since he was the one who led us to victory but also led us to failure in the next challenge.

_4. During this episode, did the Mole win an exemption?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Toad** : We're all very scared. Tonight, anybody but Birdo and Noki could go home. I don't even remember what I chose during the first quiz so if anything, it will come down to luck. I have to say, though, that Birdo, Noki and Mario were all very suspicious during this episode.

_5. During the mission 'Jewelry Robbery', was the Mole selected as the honestest player?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_6. During the mission 'Jewelry Robbery', what did the Mole say when asked how they did to get accepted into this game?_

_-The Mole was not present at the time_

_-They said they met a producer when stuck in Delfino Airport._

_-They said they asked Mario Mario and Princess Peach Toadstool to put in a good word to the producers for their application_

_-They said Chucklissa had signed them up and asked Prince Peasley to put in a good word to the producers for their application_

_-They said Lady Bow had signed them up and forced them to compete in the show_

**Jojora** : It strikes me as odd that we're asked such a question, because it was Bootler who first brought up this conversation. Just as he makes us speak about that, a question concerning that topic is created. It surely isn't a coincidence to me.

_7. During the mission 'Jewelry Robbery', when was the Mole interrogated by the honestest player?_

_-The Mole was the honestest player_

_-First_

_-Second_

_-Third_

_-Fourth_

_-Fifth_

_8. During the mission 'Jewelry Robbery', was the Mole accused wrongly of the theft by the honestest player?_

_-The Mole was the honestest player_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Noki** : Maybe Toad said the truth about being in the bathroom for the entire time, but I can't help but find that suspicious, as it was that fact that got him convicted, in the end.

_9. What is the job of the Mole?_

_-Fashion Designer_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Gardener_

_-Plumber_

_-Sculptor_

_-Butler_

**Bootler** : No matter who will go home tonight, an alliance will crumble. Whoever goes home will be missed. At that point, we are like a family. A dysfunctional one, but a family.

_10. Who is the Mole?_

_-Mario_

_-Toad_

_-Jojora_

_-Birdo_

_-Bootler_

_-Noki_

…

That night, the players could not help but look up at the starry sky, thousand of thoughts racing through their minds. One of them simply enjoyed the sight, they were the Mole, and knew that they were guaranteed a spot in the final. They walked past an array of bags and sat down on one of the six chairs disposed on the outside of the hotel. It was a cold night and the formal clothes of the players did not stop the wind from freezing them. Looking as solemn as ever, Monty Mole started talking.

"Tonight, you will face your fifth execution, for real this time. You should know the rules by now, but since it's a formality, I will remind you how this works. One by one, I will enter your names in my computer, and you will have to walk to the screen that is over here. If a green screen appears, you're safe. However, if a red screen appears, you are executed from the game and must leave immediately," he paused to glance at two particular players. "Tonight, Birdo and Noki are exempted and cannot be eliminated. I'll start the ceremony with them."

"Birdo," called the host. Birdo stood up from her chair and walked rapidly to the screen, putting her exemption card in the right slot and waiting for a green screen to appear.

**B-I-R-D-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Birdo nodded and flashed a grin at Noki, who prepared herself.

"Noki."

Noki mimicked Birdo and waited patiently, knowing full well that she was advancing to the next round.

**N-O-K-I**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

As she went back to her chair, she sent the other players an encouraging smile.

"Mario!" exclaimed Monty Mole loudly.

The plumber nodded and walked slowly to the screen. He hoped he would see a green light.

**M-A-R-I-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED**

It was Mario's time to leave the game. The hero sighed deeply and took his bag, and, before he followed the host, he turned to the other players. "I had a fun time with you all! Good luck, Mole! And may the best player win!" he grinned.

The others nodded and mouthed some goodbyes. Mario exited with his bag on his shoulders, leaving many players disappointed.

Jojora sighed. "Mario was really a great person. He was always trying his best during challenges, he was always motivating the team, and I guess he was also the only one who could reason me. It sucks. It's the second time that someone I really like leaves the game. I wish I hadn't been so bad to him today," she regretted truthfully.

Noki was crying. "He would still be here if I hadn't been so selfish! I can't believe I was the reason why he left the game!"

Birdo tried to reason her, to no avail. "Mario was a white knight in this game. He was always putting the team before him. I think he was a little too kind for his own good, though. He will be missed."

Toad sniffled a little. "I'm just glad he was enjoying himself out here. I wish he would still be here instead of me, because I knew how much this game meant to him."

"Mario was our leader. Whenever something was wrong, we relied on him. Unfortunately, tonight was his time to go. There was no way to prevent it, it was destiny, I believe. I will miss his presence as well as the influence that he had on the group," Bootler claimed. The players realized that what Bootler had said was right : Mario always motivated everyone and was helping them whenever he could.

…

Mario and Monty Mole were waiting for the plumber's taxi, outside of the hotel. Mario gripped his bag tightly with his left hand and his journal could be seen in his pocket. Monty Mole smiled apologetically at him.

"Well Mario, I'm sorry it was your time to go."

Mario chuckled lightly. "Don't be. It was my fault, after all. None of this would be happening if I had found out who the Mole was. Although I must say that your twist might have prevented me from going further into the game."

Monty Mole laughed. "Such is the nature of the game! Tell me, Mario," he started, seeing as a taxi was approaching. "What will you remember about the game?"

Mario grinned from ear to ear. "It's hard to say. Compared to this game, my life is dull and boring! I guess I'll miss the excitement. Whenever we had a new challenge, we were all dying to partake in it. Trying to find out what the clue meant with Jojora was fun too! Basically, the whole game is wonderful," he summed up.

"I might as well ask you what was your favorite moment of the game," Monty Mole chuckled.

Mario nodded. "It feels pretty good when you're the hero, I must say. I particularly liked the missions which seemed impossible but that we won in the end. Like, the 'Mansion Nightmare' one or the one which was named 'Floral Composition'. I just showed that, together, we could achieve great things," he recalled, looking one more time at the hotel.

Soon, the taxi pulled in and Mario shook Monty Mole's hand and went inside, feeling glad that he was able to partake in such a great adventure. Monty Mole watched the car until it disappeared from his view and turned to face the camera.

"Tonight, it was the famous hero of the Mushroom Kingdom who went home. From now on, only five remain. Five? No. Four players and a mysterious saboteur remain, a traitor that is still at large. Who shall emerge victorious and discover who that traitor is? Only time will tell..."

* * *

**I think it was the longest chapter I've written so far. ^^**

**Okay, so, as Champ suggested, I'm going to put a poll on my profile, asking you who you want to see winning this game. As always, I will even put the names of the fallen players so nobody gets spoiled (you never know). I would really appreciate it if you voted on that poll. ^^**

**That's it, I guess. Episode 5 is finally over! ^^**


	20. Of Traps and Puzzles

**T.I.P** : Thank you for your review and don't worry, it wasn't too long, lol ! I enjoy reading your suspicions, actually. Plus, it's cool to see that you're listing your suspicions as you read the chapters, it makes it more...live, I guess. XD Hope you'll like this chapter ! ^^

**Champ** : I know it wasn't particularly useful to put the fallen players on the poll, but I'm really glad I did, because apparently, someone voted for an executed player. So since I put all of the players, that person doesn't know which characters are gone, so I did not spoil the story for them. ^^ Thank you for your review and I'm glad that you were a bit surprised by the results of the challenge. ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the last part of the final challenge of Episode Five had started. Mario had to lead an investigation to find out who had stolen Holly Koopa's emerald. Helped by Birdo, he found out various information which, after having questioned the other players, made him think that the thief was none other than Toad. Unfortunately for the group, that was a wrong guess, as Birdo was truly the one who committed this crime. Birdo claimed her prize and gave one of her exemption to Noki, immunizing the both of them. As the players mingled and tried to find out who the Mole was, the execution was on their mind, and, after they had found a clue to the Mole's identity, they took their fifth quiz. One of them had to go that night. The hero in red scored the lowest on both quizzes and had to leave the game. Only five are remaining, what will happen next?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

20 : Of Traps and Puzzles

**Jojora** : How delicious. There goes my coalition with Mario. Exactly when I needed him the most. Now it's me versus the other four. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to work with that. I mean, this show is about who's the Mole and so far, I narrowed it to two suspects. Maybe this episode's victim will clear my remaining doubts.

**Toad** : To be honest, I'm glad that Mario went home. Not because I don't like him, but because I didn't want myself or Bootler to go home. It would have been better if Jojora had went home, though. I can only take so much of her arrogance!

**Bootler** : I was obviously disappointed when I saw that Mario left the game. Not only was he a very good team player, but I had also ruled him out as the Mole a few episodes ago. Well, there are still two more episodes before the final, I might be able to make it to the final if I make the right moves.

**Noki** : Mario, I am very sorry for what I've done yesterday. I know that you probably won't see that until after the game is over, but I wanted to say it. I can't help but think that I did the right choice when I took that exemption, for a number of reasons, though.

**Birdo** : Mario's execution was the saddest, in my opinion. Everyone liked Mario, as far as I know, I'm sure that even the Mole will miss him. I have to say that I'm pretty glad I've made it that far into the game, and I think that I'm on the right track! Be careful, Mole, Birdo's ready to get you before the others!

…

At the beginning, they were ten. Now, only five players remained. Needless to say, the once lively atmosphere was no more. More focused than ever the five survivors still discussed, but their topics of conversation were not the same anymore and mostly revolved about the game.

"Hey, where's Monty Mole?" questioned Jojora. "He's usually with us when we eat. I bet he's probably out there, trying to find a way to trick us."

Toad shook his head, munching a lettuce leaf. "Nah. He told me that he would be waiting for us outside of the hotel. Don't know why, though."

Bootler drank his glass of water. "I do wonder what he has in store for us. This host is definitely full of surprises," he chuckled to himself.

"This place is so calm without Mario!" Birdo could not help but exclaim. She received a glare from Jojora, but the fairy refrained from saying anything.

**Jojora** : It's obvious that I'm the outsider in this group. We all know that Noki and Birdo are in a coalition, and I suspect Bootler and Toad to be in another, leaving me with basically no one. So, like I said when Donkey went home, it's in my interest to be...softer.

"I concur," agreed Bootler. "Was anyone surprised when they saw that the great Mario went home?"

Toad nodded at him. "Of course I was! I thought he probably knew who the Mole was! Well, he's no psychic, but I know he is very intelligent."

"The Mole must be very good if they managed to fool him," congratulated Bootler.

"Well," started Jojora, thinking about what she was going to say, "maybe the Mole sucks and everyone voted for them. Mario could have been the most unlucky of the bunch and that's why he got the boot. Although I'm pretty sure almost everyone here has a different suspect."

Noki smiled a little. "It's weird to know that someone in this very room isn't who they claim to be. I mean, at first glance, it's impossible to determine who is the Mole."

"Maybe the Mole was trained by the producers beforehand," imagined Birdo. "Or maybe I just think about it a little too much," she laughed afterward. "Seriously, whoever the Mole is, they are really good at this game."

Bootler grinned. "Of course they are. Otherwise, this game would not be so exciting."

…

Bootler, Toad, Noki, Jojora and Birdo went outside of the hotel to meet up with Monty Mole once they had finished their meal. As usual, the host greeted them cheerfully.

"Hello everyone! Congratulations for making it successfully to another episode! Let me tell you that this one will be full of surprises, like the others!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"As long as the twists aren't evil, like the one from the previous episode, I'm fine with every surprise you have for us!" Jojora stated loudly. Monty Mole chuckled a little.

"Don't worry, we wouldn't want to do the same things over and over, would we?" reassured her the host. "Anyway, first surprise of this episode... You will only be able to win one exemption!"

"I'm glad there's only one exemption. Last episode had too many, anyway," declared Toad. The others agreed with him.

**Birdo** : Three exemptions when there were only six players alive was a bit too much in my opinion. I would have been fine with one or two, though. Still, since there only was one exemption available, I thought there would be a lot of fighting. Everyone wants an exemption! Even I!

"The catch is that... Well, that's not really a catch, but still. If you take this episode's exemption, you will automatically lose the mission in which it will appear. Which means that even if things are looking good for your team, you shouldn't rest just yet. Always keep an eye open!" Instantly, the players looked at each other warily.

**Jojora** : We've had many problems with exemptions in the past, so it's only natural that we would be cautious of the other players. I can give you some names : Bootler, Noki, Toad and Birdo. Yeah, basically, everyone but me managed to get an exemption and made us lose more money because of their greediness. I mean, I haven't had any exemption at all and I'm still here. So clearly, it proves that you don't necessarily need exemptions to go far.

"So, what are we going to do today?" asked Toad, ready to play to the best of his ability. "I'm really excited!" he exclaimed in a jumpy way.

"Ha ha! Unfortunately, we're not having a mission just yet. You'll have to be patient!"

"Why did you call us, then?" Bootler questioned, his face ambiguous.

"Since you all made it that far into the game, I thought you could relax a little," announced the host. "I'm bringing you to a very peaceful place, I'm sure you'll love it!" he exaggerated a little.

**Toad** : Sometimes, I feel like the host himself is more suspicious than the players. That was one of those times.

…

Monty Mole and the players jumped out of a pipe and immediately stared at their surroundings. They were in the sky, high above the clouds. A marvelous castle was standing high in front of their eyes, its top reaching for the sun. White marble and red tiles constituted the classy Romanesque building. Rainbows covered the entire place, making the castle look like it had escaped a fairy tale.

**Bootler** : Of all the places we have gone to, I must say that Mario's Rainbow Castle was the best. Never in my life have I felt so stunned by such a magnificent sight. I was baffled.

**Toad** : I've always liked Mario's Rainbow Castle, I don't know why, I just feel that way every time I go to this place.

"Welcome to Mario's Rainbow Castle!" the host voiced loudly. "You are part of the very few people who have had the opportunity to visit it! And you can thank you friend Mario for that, because he was the one who let us do whatever we wanted to do to his castle before the start of the game. Yes, he owns this castle." The players were all in awe, except for Toad who had already been to this place before and knew that Mario owned it.

"Hey! Wait a second! Mario would have been at an advantage if a challenge had taken place here!" realized the mushroom. "Was his execution fake?"

"But we're not having a challenge right now, are we?" retorted Monty Mole smartly. As the others looked at Toad warily, he could only justify his train of thought.

"Every time Monty brings us somewhere, we have a new challenge. It's only natural that I think that we'll have one today too!" Bootler nodded in understanding.

"I can see your point. I also thought that it was strange of the host to let us relax, when we know that there is no time to rest in such a game," explained calmly the ghost. Noki glanced at Birdo, who shrugged in return.

"Challenge or not, I'd still like us to move. Standing here all day long probably won't help anything. And if we're having a challenge, then fine, we'll have one. We can't avoid the inevitable, so let's go!" she exclaimed happily.

**Noki** : Of course, we all knew that Monty Mole was preparing something, so I didn't find Toad's outburst that suspicious. Okay, I did find it a bit suspicious at the time, but that's all.

Monty Mole led them to the entrance of the castle. He opened the large wooden gate all by himself, to the surprise of many players and asked them to enter the building. However, when they did so, Monty Mole closed the door in a hurry and locked it. "I suppose it isn't a surprising surprise, but I'll look up to your victory anyway! If memory serves me right, you shouldn't have any problem with this mission! Good luck!" the host encouraged them before leaving.

"Huh?" questioned Toad dumbly. The players were all speechless and most of all confused.

**Birdo** : So, like, we go into Mario's castle and suddenly Monty Mole shut the door and wish us luck for the challenge. I mean, what challenge? What are we supposed to do? He explained nothing and just left! We had no idea what to do.

While Birdo and Toad were trying to force the door open, Bootler and Noki tried to guess what their challenge was about. Jojora was nowhere to be seen, she had already gone elsewhere to investigate on her own.

"Let's face it," declared Noki, "Monty Mole must have left us some instructions on what to do."

Bootler was puzzled but understood what Noki meant. "Yes, it is highly unlikely that our host would leave us in the dark, so either he left us rules or..."

"Or he told us something which should help us understand the goal of the mission," finished the blue-shelled girl. The pair thought about it for a moment when suddenly, they both realized what they had to do at the same time.

"He said, 'look _up_ to your victory'," recalled Bootler. "So our mission has something to do with the top of the castle, or so I assume." By now, Toad and Birdo had stopped banging on the door and listened intently to Noki's and Bootler's thoughts.

"Maybe we need to reach the top of the castle under a time limit?" suggested Noki.

"I think it may be our only objective," presumed Bootler. "Let us explore this castle before we reach wrong conclusions, however."

**Birdo** : Bootler always seems to know what's going to happen, so that's what is making me wary of him. For all we know, he could use his intelligence to make it look like he's a genuine player while in fact he knows all the information because he's the Mole.

The four players decided to look for clues together and, since the lobby was rather empty, they directly went to the next part of the castle, where Jojora was awaiting them. They explained the situation and were surprised to see that Jojora had already understood the goal of the mission.

"Well, what did you think I was? Dumb?" she scoffed. "Anyway, I've tried to take the stairs, but, when I reached the end, the doors were closed. "Which means that our only way out seems to be this elevator. And guess what? We need to find a ten digits combination to make it work." She received baffled stares. "Oh come on, you should know by now that everything the host says is significant," she claimed matter-of-factly.

"Are we timed?" Birdo inquired suddenly. "I mean, I don't want to rush you but if we're timed, we'd better find out find out the combination. Quickly!" she added.

As the players were going to explore the castle, Bootler's face became paler than usual as he was hit with realization. "Does anyone remember the note the Mole left us yesterday night, by any chance? The numbers on the note, I mean." Noki looked shocked.

"I thought it had nothing to do with the clue! Do you mean that the Mole handed us the solution of this challenge and we dismissed it?" Everyone was at a loss of words.

Bootler regained his composure. "Alas, it seems the Mole duped us, once again. If any of you remembers what the host said, then it becomes clear. He said : 'if memory serves me right, you shouldn't have any problems with this challenge'," quoted the old butler.

"Too bad nobody here remembers what the combination was!" Toad replied sarcastically. "Well, I think we should split up to cover more ground, what do you think guys?"

"I'm okay with that!" smiled Birdo. "How about two groups? You guys can inspect one aisle of the castle while we take the other," she proposed to Toad and Bootler who nodded in return.

**Toad** : I'm glad I was with Bootler, because he's the only one I trust right now. Plus, as alliance partners, I know that he won't pull some kind of dirty trick behind my back.

…

Bootler and Toad made their way to the left aisle of the castle, trying not to create a mess with the armors that were disposed all along the large corridor.

"Funny, this one does not have the same shield as the others," noticed Bootler, smiling at his discovery. "I guess nothing is perfect after all."

"Should we try that room?" questioned the mushroom. He did not wait for an answer and went through the door, finding himself in a laboratory, full of chemical substances. He looked around the room and noticed a picture of a Monty Mole. "Yup, there's something to do in this room," he confirmed.

In turn, Bootler entered the laboratory and went to Toad's side. "What do we have here? An enigma to solve?"

"Yeah," nodded Toad. "We have three containers. One of them can contain eight liters of water, another one can contain three liters and the last one can contain five liters. We need to split the water in two containers and each of them must have four liters of water inside. We can only use the containers to decant the water. I...really don't know how we're supposed to do this," stuttered the mushroom.

"Hmmm," muttered Bootler, "I do not really know how we will be able to do that in one go, but I suppose we could always try..." He then took the eight liter container and filled the five liter container with it. "What should the next step be?"

"How about you fill the three liter container? It must serve a purpose!" half-yelled Toad in a non-aggressive way.

"Alright, I will give it a try," Bootler filled the three liter container thanks to the five liter one. "Then, I suppose I could put it back in the big container." Toad was confused and let the old Boo do his job. "Oh! I think I understand!" exclaimed Bootler all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?"

"Just watch and learn."

Bootler filled the empty three liter container expertly with the five liter one. "Now we have six liters, two liters and zero liter. If I fill the five liter container with the water which is in the eight liters one, I have one, two and five." Bootler did what he had just said. "The next two steps should be obvious. We add one liter to the three liter container, which means that we now have one container with four liters. After that, we finally fill the first container with the water which remains in the second one..."

As soon as the problem was solved, Bootler and Toad heard a click. They looked around the room, and Toad noticed a safe. He went to open it and found a number. "It's a one!" he shouted happily.

**Toad** : Well, I said earlier that Bootler was the one I trusted the most, but that doesn't mean that I don't find him suspicious. I have my doubts. Everyone could be the Mole.

…

On the right aisle of the castle, Noki, Jojora and Birdo were looking for the combination. They entered a room, full of hope, only to see that it was empty.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Jojora, unnerved. "There's nothing on this room!"

"Wait!" stopped them Birdo. "There is something! Look at the floor, there's some sort of weird tile or something." She made her way to the suspicious place and jumped on it. "Nothing. That's strange, I'm sure I've already heard of those things." Noki joined her.

"Maybe you don't weight enough?" she suggested, mimicking her friend. "Jojora, would you be so kind as to help us, please?" Jojora grunted but complied. As soon as she stepped on the tile, a hidden passage was revealed to the three girls.

"Awesome!" cheered Birdo. "I feel like I'm in a video game where I have to find the solution to puzzles... That's so exciting!" she yelled as she went toward the door, which shut instantly. "Huh?"

Jojora exited the room watched by the suspicious Birdo and Noki. They heard a big ruckus outside the room as well as a curse from Jojora and decided to help her. When they stepped outside, they remarked that all the armors had fallen down and that Jojora was trying lift one of them, without any success.

**Noki** : It was quite an amusing sight to see! I mean, it's not everyday that you can laugh at Jojora's expense.

"What are you trying to do exactly? Demolishing Mario's castle won't help you one bit!" reprimanded a flabbergasted Birdo. Jojora rolled her eyes.

"If we put those things on the weird tile, I think we'll be able to make it to the other room without leaving anyone behind!" she explained forcefully. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

With the most physically fit players gone, the three girls struggled to transport the armors to the other room. Noki was by far the weakest and did not help much. After almost seven minutes, they saw that their efforts had paid, the door was open. The three girls sighed in relief and found another empty room. On the farthest wall was a single number : a two. They were disappointed to see that nothing else was in there.

**Birdo** : Well, look at that. We spent an awful lot of time carrying those heavy armors for almost nothing! I think it was sabotage, because Jojora was really fishy the entire time.

**Jojora** : I began to think that splitting up wasn't a good idea at all. So, I tried to remember who was the responsible. And guess what, it was Toad who had suggested this idea, with Birdo quickly agreeing with him. Do I find that suspicious? Of course I do!

…

Toad jumped as he exited the first room he had been in with Bootler. "I wonder what was that sound..." Bootler paid no attention to the sound, however, and headed to the second room. Toad followed him afterward.

It was a luxurious bedroom, with a red four-poster bed, red carpet, red curtains with golden ornaments and a vanity. The players stepped carefully into the room, trying to find their next number. They found something on the dressing table.

FFOEDRE

MPONXEITE

MBRUEN

FO

SIUMN

OTW

"Anagrams!" exclaimed Toad. "I suck at those!" he smiled sheepishly. "Oh well, at least I see a 'of' and a 'two'."

Bootler agreed. "Yes, and the fifth one is most likely 'minus'."

Toad was clearly stumped. "Honestly, I'm glad you're here otherwise I would be stuck for a while."

"I do believe that the second word is 'exemption'," Bootler reflected aloud. Toad's face brightened.

"Then it means 'number of exemptions minus two'!" he realized. Bootler nodded.

"Do we count the exemption of this round or not?" the Boo asked, unsure. Toad shook his head.

"Honestly, I doubt it. For all we know, the exemption will be winnable in the next challenge or something, so no."

"As far as I recall, Flurrie won the first exemption," remarked Bootler.

"And during episode two, Pauline, Mario and Flurrie all got one!" remembered Toad. "In episode three, we both won an exemption, so that already makes six."

"I do not remember if there was any exemption obtainable during episode four."

"There wasn't," reminded him Toad. "And finally, there were three exemptions during episode five. Nine minus two makes seven!"

"We are doing great, if I do say so myself!" Bootler boasted a little.

…

Meanwhile, the three girls were still hunting for the numbers that would free them from the castle. They walked past the fallen armors and found another room on their left. They entered with caution but found themselves imprisoned between the room's wall.

"Looks like we've got a problem to solve," sighed Birdo, apparently already tired after the physical effort she had just done.

Noki and Jojora made their way to the center of the room where they saw a glass case covering an item they could not clearly define. On top of the glass case was a piece of paper on which was written 'Who's ready to take risks?'.

"What the heck?" could not help shouting Jojora. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, it's only a theory," started Noki, looking intently at the item, "but maybe someone needs to lift the case and take the item so we can go out?" Jojora remarked that Noki was looking at her.

"Oh no! I'm _not _taking any risk!" Jojora's temper was quickly raising. "Especially not when I know that this kind of surprises led to the downfall of Kooper!"

Noki pondered for a moment. "Well, maybe there's another way out. I don't particularly want to- What are you doing Birdo?" Noki asked frightened. Birdo shrugged as she lifted the glass case and reached for the object inside.

"Sometimes, you need to take risks and... Oh my god! Awesome!" she shouted, exhibiting her price. "It's a plus one!" she laughed gayly.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Jojora, her mouth agape. "Why are you so damn lucky?" Birdo raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like you couldn't have taken it in the first place. Noki even asked you first," she pointed out smartly. "Oh yeah, but you were afraid it was a minus one, unlike me. Which is why I deserve it. I took risks, never knowing what might have happened."

"That was very daring of you," admitted Noki, surprised but happy for Birdo. Jojora closed her eyes and took a deep breath to refrain from snapping.

**Jojora** : I'm even more suspicious of Birdo than before! I mean, she looks like she's the hero, but if she was the Mole, she wouldn't need to worry about taking risks, since she knows what happens and what doesn't happen.

"Hey! There's a number!" noted Birdo. "It's another two!"

…

Bootler and Toad had found another room, so they had decided to enter and were now staring at a big fancy painting which decorated the majority of a wall. They were puzzled and did not know what do do, but fortunately for them, Toad took another look around the room and saw a piece of paper hanging from the ceiling. While he retrieved it, Bootler kept staring at the painting.

On it, four men and four women were represented. The women were seated on a bench while the mean stood up behind them. The first man, starting from the right, had a top hat, spectacles and a nice suit. A mushy brown mustache was also gracing his features. The second man also had a mustache, but it was black and more trimmed than the one of the previous man. He did not wear a hat but had a bow tie on. The third man was hairless, was wearing a bowler hat and had a stick in his right hand. The final man, on the far left had a beard as well as a mustache. He was wearing a beige suit with a red bow tie on it and had a hat on his head.

Strangely enough, the women were all the same, except that they were wearing a different number of bows each. The first one had two bows, the second one had four, the third one had six and the last one had seven.

"We have yet another enigma to solve!" Toad cheered ironically, joining Bootler near the picture. "Let's see."

Only one of these couples is real. To determine which one is the right one, follow these instructions.

Two of the men are brothers, they are not sitting right next to one another, but they both share one specific aspect. At least one of the brothers is single. One of the other two men is also single, there is something different about him, although it is not about his face. The brother which is located to the left of the man that is not different is single for sure. Now, it should be obvious which couple is real, unless you need glasses to find the last wrong one.

**Bootler** : I was rather interested by all those little challenges. Some of the puzzles were very well-thought. We needed to focus all of our attention on the puzzles and at the same time, we knew that we were probably timed so we were very tense. That mission was definitely one of my favorites!

"So, how should we process?" questioned Toad. "I think we need to find the brothers, but I don't see how. I mean, they all have specific attributes, so we can't know which pair is the brothers." He glanced at Bootler who looked as if he had understood. "You have an idea?"

Bootler nodded and pointed at the picture. "You see, we need to find the two men who share a specific aspect, which means that we need to find something that _only_ the two of them have. Three of them have hats, this means that the common aspect isn't the hat. If you repeat that process with the other items, you will soon find that only the second and the fourth have a bow tie."

"Okay, let me try... Man one or man three is single, apparently, because he's different. I would say that man three is single because he doesn't have hairs but they say on this paper that this isn't about the face, so man one must be single, because he wears spectacles," reasoned Toad, looking at the picture intently.

Bootler waited a moment before replying. "Well, I think that you are wrong. The spectacles are on his face, so you cannot claim that he is different because of them. However, if you look at the third man, you will see that he does possess a stick, unlike the others. The stick being in his hand, I believe he meets the requirements given by the paper."

**Toad** : Bootler was literally gliding through the challenges, as though he had already known about them beforehand. That did strike me as suspicious, although it could just be his natural intelligence. Oh well, I'm not really complaining, because thanks to him we managed to get the numbers of the combination quickly.

"Thanks Bootler! I doubt I'd go anywhere without you. I'm really glad to be paired with a smart player like you!" Bootler only replied with a small smile.

"We are not finished yet, my dear. Now that we know that the third and the fourth men are single, we only need to solve the last riddle to determine which man is the last wrong one. Simply enough, the real couple is the second one, as man number two does not wear glasses, unlike the first one who has spectacles on his face," clarified Bootler.

Toad took another look at the painting. "You know, I think that since the men took an important part in the challenge, it should be the same for the women. I think the number we need to find has something to do with how many bows they have in their hair. So four should be our answer." Bootler agreed with a simple nod and the two boys were off to another room.

…

Noki, Birdo and Jojora rushed to the next door, trying to make up for lost time. They entered into the room and discovered that they were in yet another simple one. A single table was standing in the middle of the room, with a pile of sheets on its right side. Scanning ther surroundings, Noki caught sight of the directions of this mini-challenge. She grabbed it and read it aloud.

On this table are plenty of sheets of paper, all of them representing your past challenges. You have to divide those sheets in two piles, according to the results of your past challenges. Once you think you have the correct combination, simply count the number of lost challenges, that will be your escape number.

Jojora raised an eyebrow and looked carefully at the instructions over Noki's shoulder. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard, let's get to work!" Noki, however, did not move one inch. She frowned at the instructions. Jojora was already starting to lose her patience. "Hurry up, we don't have all day!"

The blue-shelled girl still did not move but stared right into Jojora's eyes. Finally, she spoke up. "What do we do about the half-won half-lost challenges?" For once, Jojora was at a loss of words.

"Hey, would you mind giving me a hand?" questioned Birdo. "I'm trying to remember whether or not your group won the challenge with the sheep in Windmillville."

Jojora squinted hard. "Well... We didn't win, nor did we lose for that matter. It wasn't a perfect victory, but it wasn't a total failure either. You know what? I think we should put this paper on the lost challenges' pile."

"But why?" inquired a suspicious Birdo. "I thought you said you didn't entirely lose that challenge?"

"Yes, but we only won, like, five thousand coins or something. That isn't even half of the money we could have won, so I guess it's more of a failure." Jojora made her way to the table and put the picture on the spot reserved to the lost challenges.

**Noki** : I was kind of doubtful of Jojora at the time, because she interpreted the rules that were given to us. I mean, for all we knew, she could have known the signification of the clue and fooled us. You never know what to expect in this game.

Birdo nodded, a little puzzled. "Well, I suppose we'd better follow the same logic for the next challenges, then. This one... Ah, the singing challenge. We did awful, so I'm going to put that with the lost challenges."

"This...is the first challenge, right?" Noki asked while showing a picture of various cases waiting before the hotel. "I don't remember how much we won. There was some sabotage if I remember correctly."

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Flurrie's fault. And I think we won it, but I'm not sure."

Birdo shook her head. "No, we didn't. Well, I understand why you're mistaken, but we lost it. Three thousand coins were removed from the pot because Flurrie did not label correctly at least one of the items. So in the end, we only added eight thousand coins to the pot. Put it with the others." She smiled when she saw a picture of a windmill surrounded by flowers. "We won this challenge!" She frowned when she saw how many challenges they had lost. "Seriously, we're not really doing good."

"And who, might I ask, did sabotage most challenges so far?" Jojora questioned rhetorically. "You."

Noki sighed. "Let's not fight. A picture of the Perplex Express. Well, I'd rather not talk about that," she smiled sheepishly, putting it in the lost challenges' pile."

"A treasure chest on a beach... Challenge two? Funny that the three of us didn't manage to win our clue. We lost it, anyway," huffed Jojora.

Birdo found herself looking at the picture of an eerie mansion. "Oh yeah, the King Boo challenge... Toad, Mario and I managed to survive so... We barely won it."

Noki was incredulous. "Hmm, girls? I have a picture of an exemption...? What is this?"

"The exemption roulette," recalled Birdo and Jojora at the same time.

"Oh yes, we won it!"

"This picture reminds me of Pagoda Peak, and we lost this challenge thanks to Toad and Bootler," groaned Jojora.

"I'm sure you would have done the same," reprimanded Noki. "Exemptions are crucial in this game."

"And I still haven't gotten one!" shouted Jojora."

Birdo cleared her throat. "Anyway, I think we lost the challenge with the attractions. But we did win the clue hunt."

"And, last but not least, the relatives challenge. We barely lost it," sighed Noki. "I think we have lost eight challenges," she added after counting the number of pictures lying on the lost challenges' pile.

"Good!" exclaimed Birdo. "Let's go to the next room, I don't know for you but I've got the horrible feeling that we're timed! Let's not waste any time!" The other two nodded and followed her toward the next room.

* * *

_Episode 6 finally starts !  
_

_Sorry for the long wait, and I hope you will like this chapter. Honestly, I don't know when I will be able to write the next one, so I don't make any promise. ^^_

_Until next time !_


	21. High Stakes

Previously on the Mole, the players were tricked by Monty Mole. Indeed, the host promised them that they would be able to relax in Mario's Rainbow Castle, but as soon as they stepped into the huge building, he closed the door without giving them any clue. Or at least, that was what the players thought before Noki and Bootler managed to understand the rules of the challenge. They had to find a ten digit combination which would let them take the elevator to the highest part of castle. The contestants split up into two groups. The boys were to inspect the left wing of the castle while the girls would take the right one. Both groups have already found three digits, what will happen next?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

21 : High Stakes

Toad and Bootler rushed into the long corridor when suddenly Toad's foot got caught in one of the knight armor. The mushroom boy fell to the ground, followed by the numerous armors. "Whoops!" he exclaimed sheepishly. "Didn't mean to do that," he added after he had gotten up.

"Are you alright?" asked a concerned Bootler. "I would not want you to be hurt, maybe we should stop the game?"

"Woah! Wait a moment. I'm perfectly fine!" interrupted Toad. "I fall all the time, really. I guess it's probably because I don't have any leg, or maybe I'm just clumsy. But really, I'm fine, let's win this challenge!" he yelled, going into another room.

**Toad** : Well, that was sure strange of Bootler to want to stop the challenge just because I fell down. It will just leave a few scratches, nothing else. I suppose it's normal for old people to worry about everything, though.

**Bootler** : I do find interesting the fact that Toad keeps on injuring himself during those challenges. I may be over analyzing everything, but when you are playing the Mole, every little detail has its own importance. Whether it is what people say or do, you need to take everything into consideration. After all, the Mole is bound to make a mistake one time or another.

Bootler was going to follow the little mushroom when he suddenly stopped. He glanced around the room and his eyes became fixed on one peculiar armor. He watched it for a moment and was going to make his way toward it when Toad's voice rang in his ears. "Bootler? You're coming?"

After that, the old Boo decided to enter the room Toad was currently in. "What do we need to do?"

"Well," started Toad, looking ahead of him, "We have to go through a maze to claim our number, it should be easy enough, right?"

"I do agree. Let us split up so we can cover more ground, then," demanded Bootler. Toad held him by the arm.

"Wait. We can't split up. There's a chance that we'll never be able to go back to this labyrinth's entrance if we do that."

"So what is it you wish to do?" inquired the butler.

Toad smiled. "I know how to go through this mini-challenge. We just need to stay together and feel the walls. Just follow me, it'll be quick."

Bootler nodded and accompanied Toad who was leading the way. As he had said earlier, the mushroom put his right hand on the wall and kept following it. Although it did seem a little long, they managed to get to the number in no time.

"I must say, Toad, I never knew you were so good with mazes."

"Thanks! I actually didn't know it myself at the beginning of this game show, but I made some research on the Internet and I found out that you could easily find your way out of a maze by following one wall all along. Yup, I did my homework!" exclaimed Toad joyfully.

**Toad** : I finally showed my worth in a challenge! It was about time too, with the Mole that's always sabotaging the challenges and everything... Though, I wonder why on earth Bootler wanted us to split up in a maze. He is really bright, so I can't help but wonder if he suggested that idea knowing deliberately that it would make us fail... So much things to think about and so little time to do so...

**Bootler** : Toad impressed me during the challenge, it was really smart of him to foresee that we would have a challenge like that one and to research how to go through a labyrinth. If he really did his homework, that is.

…

"How much time do we have left?" asked Noki to the two other girls. Birdo shrugged while Jojora looked annoyed.

"How the heck should I know? Monty Mole never left us any indication!" she yelled angrily. The ice fairy reached for the doorknob but as soon as she pulled the door, tons of various objects poured out of the room, almost flooding her. "What was that?"

"Woah, you're alright?" questioned Birdo. "This is messed up! Seriously, we could have been hurt!"

Noki was deep in thought and actually paid no attention to what had just happened. Her face lit up, as though she had understood something. "I think the challenges of this aisle were designed for strong people, preferably males. And I also suppose that Bootler and Toad just have to solve riddles."

"Thank you, genius! It would have really been helpful if you had said it earlier," uttered Jojora, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't really see how taking a plus one or remembering about previous challenges asks for our strength either."

"That is only a supposition, but males are often more 'daring' than females, if you know what I mean. But you're right, it doesn't make much sense when you think about what was in the previous room."

Birdo tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. "Do I need to remind you of the timer? Help me search through this clutter!"

"It seems like it will be time-consuming. Maybe we don't have to search this mess..."

The pink dinosaur contemplated the idea, but quickly shook her head. "We don't know for sure. Let's just inspect this room."

Jojora mumbled something under her breath and helped Birdo, throwing various things in the corridor. It took them around ten minutes to clear a passage going from the entrance to the end of the room. There, a single sheet of paper was stuck to the wall.

"Let's see... 'Number of the room.' That's all it says," claimed Noki, her voice showing that she was clearly unhappy at the turn of events.

"_Great_, just great!"

**Jojora** : Noki has been suspicious throughout the challenge. Scratch that. Noki has been really suspicious throughout the _whole_ game. There's something about her that makes me wary. Maybe it's because she's more knowledgeable than she wants to let it seem. She has a way to discover the true meaning of things, only it's always too late when she tells us. I personally think that that would be an awesome strategy for the Mole.

Birdo sighed. "At least we made some progress. There were only ten digits in the combination and we already got four of them. It shouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that there's only one left in this aisle of the castle."

Noki agreed. "Good point. We may still have time, let's get the last number!"

…

"I am one hundred percent sure that there is something wrong with this armor," pointed out Bootler as he and Toad were entering the last room of their aisle. "It does not seem right at all."

"Why are you so focused on that armor? It isn't like you to act like that. Let's go back to the challenge, we can still inspect whatever you want to inspect after this challenge's over. But for now, twenty thousand coins are waiting for us at the top of this castle," retorted the gardener. Bootler complied and followed him.

They both entered the last room and found themselves in what looked like a gymnasium. Inside was a long obstacle course which made Bootler a bit edgy. He floated carefully to the wines and tried to 'test' them. He pulled it with all his might and was satisfied to see that it had not moved at all. Toad was looking at him the whole time, amused.

"You know, you don't have to do it. I'm sure I'll do fine by myself, you could rest for a moment," offered Toad kindly.

Bootler smiled and shook his head. "While it sure is considerate of you to think about my well-being, I can assure you that I will not falter. We are a team, we should progress as a team."

Toad laughed. "Whatever floats your boat, Bootler!" He caught the wines in his hands and, being very nimble, made it to the top in no time. Bootler took his time and made it too. Toad seemed impressed by Bootler's performance.

"I would have never imagined that you could climb so easily... Tell me, what's your secret?" joked the mushroom as he and his partner were crossing a thin beam, trying to keep their balance.

"Let us simply say that I am experienced in climbing," chuckled the ghost lightly as he remembered his first steps into the game.

Soon, Toad started to wobble dangerously, however, he quickly regained his balance and went onward. It took them a little while to reach the other end of the tightrope, but they made it safe and sound. After that, they had to navigate through a giant net, where they started having trouble. Bootler was totally tangled up so Toad assisted him. Then, the two boys watched where they put their hands and feet in Toad's case.

"It's so long and boring," whined Toad childishly. "Honestly, I'm kind of tired of those challenges where everyone is separated. It's not really funny when it's just the two of us, no offense meant, Bootler."

"None taken. However, you have to realize that you cannot always have what you want in this game, it is only fair that we partake in various challenges, some of which do not appeal to us at all. Think of the reward, if you do not like it. Hopefully, we will be able to relax in this beautiful castle," daydreamed Bootler, disconnected of reality. It was only when he heard Toad's warning that he woke up from his reverie and found himself in a strange position.

**Bootler** : I am honestly grateful for this alliance with Toad. Without it, I cannot say that I would have reached this stage of the game. This coalition leads me closer to the end of the game...

Toad shook his head and untangled the butler. A few meters later, they emerged from the net and discovered the last obstacle : a swimming pool filled with ping pong balls. Bootler stared at the white sea, disbelief written in his eyes. "Do they expect us to look for one different ball located in this pool?"

Toad sent him a confused glance. "What do you mean? I think we just need to reach the other side."

"Oh, I suppose I was mistaken, then. Sorry about that, I just remembered a challenge which happened in an Amazing Race... It was not pretty."

"You liked this show too? It's awesome!" cheered Toad excitedly. "I've watched some seasons, the show is really suspenseful!"

"Well, of course I watch it. I was even invited to partake in one of them, which I did, accompanied by my lovely Princess Bow," he reminisced.

"Really? I so have to watch the season you were in! How was it called?" asked a hyper Toad.

Bootler rubbed his chin for a moment before answering calmly. "_The Amazing Race: Mario Edition_, if I remember correctly."

"Cool! I'll be sure to check that out! Look, we're almost there!"

Indeed, the two men were so enthralled in their conversation that they had made very quick progress and were at the other end of the swimming pool. They climbed the ladder and found their last number. It was a five. They high-fived each other and ran as fast as possible to the center hall.

Once there, they noticed with dissatisfaction that the girls were still in their aisle. They decided to wait for them near the elevator.

**Toad** : Thinking about it, it was probably the dumbest mistake someone has ever made on the Mole. We could have helped them but the thought never crossed our minds. Oh well, you can't always think rationally.

…

The three girls entered the last room and discovered with stupefaction that it contained a soccer field. They walked up to the center of the field and saw five persons talking with each other. Birdo started up the conversation.

"Hey guys! Do you know where we have to go to find some number? We're supposed to get a combination to reach the top of the castle," she specified.

Noki chimed in. "It's for a game, The Mole, to be exact."

"Oh! We were waiting for you guys- I mean, girls, to show up," responded a friendly Hammer Bro conveniently named Hamma. "Weren't you supposed to be five, though?"

"No, we decided to divide ourselves in two groups, so the two boys aren't here," answered Jojora calmly.

"I see," continued Hamma who seemed to be the leader. "Well then, it means that you'll have to score two goals against Girolle, Toodia and Booenissima if you want to get your number. Think you can do it?" he taunted them lightly.

"I'm not-" Noki was interrupted by Jojora.

"Yeah! We'll definitely destroy you!" yelled the blue fairy, her competitiveness raising.

**Noki** : Hmm, what? I've never played soccer at all in my entire life! How was I supposed to score two goals against such good players?

**Jojora** : I must admit that I had totally forgotten that I had two polar opposites on my team. It wasn't going to be good. I had to rely on strategy because while Birdo had a strong kick, Noki's was totally weak and while Noki's speed was outstanding, Birdo was really slow.

The little group went to one side of the soccer field while the three girls of the soccer team went to the other. Before the match, Jojora talked strategy with her two allies. "Well, if I remember correctly, Toadette are quick on their feet, so we'll have to be wary of Toodia. I think that you won't have any problem stealing the football from her, Noki."

"I guess I could do that, but I'm not really strong. You can't expect me to score against a professional team," retorted the blue-shelled girl.

"You could pass the football to us. Birdo are a species which is naturally strong, and I'm not weak either. Anyway, I think that I can tail the Boo... Booenissima, I think? She might be a little faster than me, but I'm positive I can beat her. As to the last one who is a Monty Mole, I think that Donkey mentioned that they were very slow but unbelievably strong so we need to be very careful about her. I think her name was Girolle or something."

Birdo smiled. "It doesn't matter whether or not Girolle scores. All that matters is that we score two times." Jojora nodded.

"Good point, but we also need to win as soon as possible, because the clock is ticking," encouraged them Jojora.

They positioned themselves on the soccer field and waited for Hamma to kick off the match. Toodia began to rush toward the team's goal with Noki in hot pursuit, but the Toadette saw her and quickly made a pass to her Boo partner who was situated in front of the team's goal. She scored effortlessly.

"Damn, they're good," cursed Jojora.

Birdo sighed. "Well, they _are_ professionals..."

"No duh."

Noki frowned. "Come on, don't start bickering or else we'll never win!"

Noki ran to the other team's goal, but as she was not used to dribbling, she tripped and fell flat on her face. Girolle took the ball and gave it a strong kick which sent it to Toodia who jumped over the team's goal and scored.

"Focus, people!" fumed Jojora. "We can't win if you make such blatant mistakes! And Birdo, what are you doing? We need you to actually play the game for once, if it isn't asking for too much."

"Well, excuse me!" snapped Birdo. "But I don't see you doing anything either! And what can I do? I didn't get the football at least once! Hard to play in those conditions."

**Birdo** : It was pretty obvious that our team was dysfunctional. If Toad and Bootler had been here, I'm sure we could have pulled it off easily.

**Jojora** : She tripped! In a soccer game! And don't tell me that she never played with a ball before, because I won't believe you. I think she was sabotaging the team. But then again, Birdo wasn't helping at all. They're both to blame.

**Noki** : The truth is that Jojora wasn't doing much either. I think she was yelling at us because she realized herself that we weren't playing in the same league.

After a couple more failures, Jojora finally managed to snatch the football out of the Monty Mole's feet. She made a pass to Birdo who concentrated and unleashed a powerful kick toward the goal before Toodia or Booenissima managed to reach her.

Needless to say, she scored easily. Noki congratulated her.

"Wow, that was amazing!" She cheered, putting emphasis on the last word. Birdo grinned in return.

"Well, Jojora made a great play too! I think it was a collective effort, you know."

It took them several unsuccessful tries, but they finally managed to score another goal. Toodia was nearing the team's goal when Noki arrived out of nowhere and stole the football. Before Booenissima retaliated, she sent the football to Birdo who immediately sent it to Jojora who tricked the other team's goalkeeper and score the second point. Hamma and the rest of his team gave them a loud applaud and gave them their reward : the last digit they needed.

"Here you go girls, we were keeping a number which is six."

"Thanks!" winked Birdo. "C'mon, let's go back to the elevator now." The other two nodded and raced back to the great hall.

…

When they arrived, Birdo, Noki and Jojora saw that Bootler and Toad were already there, waiting for them near the elevator. Noki breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness they are finished."

Toad heard her and waved. "Hey! Did you find the numbers? We got five!"

Jojora nodded and made her way to the elevator. As she was getting ready to type the numbers she and her team had found, Bootler stopped her. "I was wondering... How are we supposed to find the right combination? I believe it is impossible to find the right one instantly. There are thousand of possible combinations."

"You raise a good point," nodded Noki. "However, since we don't really have an answer, we might as well enter them randomly. I doubt we need to put the numbers in order, maybe we only need to enter them to win."

"It's worth a try," shrugged Jojora. She typed her numbers and asked for the ones Bootler and Toad had found. "Okay, so that's two, two, eight, five, six, one, seven, four, two and five. Enter!"

"Please let it be right," hoped Noki, crossing her fingers.

**Noki** : I really didn't want to lose that mission. It was definitely hard and tiring, and I wouldn't want to be rewarded with nothing after my hard work.

Birdo was confident they would win this challenge. "If we had lost, I suppose Monty Mole would have told us already. But since he didn't, there's still hope."

"The password is incorrect," stated Jojora. Toad looked surprised.

"Maybe you typed it incorrectly?" he suggested.

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I triple checked, so that means that at least one of the number is wrong. Where do you think you messed up?"

"What do you mean by that? We did not mess up, I'm one hundred percent positive the mistake isn't ours," replied the mushroom.

"I can attest to that," agreed Bootler. "Most of the numbers were given to us, we only had to guess two of them, and I am convinced that our logic was sound. What about your rooms? I am not asking you whether you made a mistake or not, however, I would like you to tell me where you think it was possible for you to make a mistake."

"I don't see where, honestly," answered the blue fairy, more truthful than she had ever been.

Suddenly, Birdo gasped. "I know where we could have bee wrong! The room with the previous challenges! We just assumed that the challenges were won when we had received half of the money they were worth."

"Wait, what? You _assumed_...?" Toad interrogated, bewildered.

Birdo crossed her arms. "There wasn't much we could do since we were given not-so-explicit instructions."

Bootler rubbed his chin. "We should go back to the rooms. I say Birdo, Jojora and I check the let aisle while Toad and Noki verify the right one. Do not take too long!"

As the groups began to leave the hall, they heard the elevator going down. The players sent Jojora a questioning glance and waited for the machine to stop. As soon as it reached the floor, the players rushed toward it, only to stop dead in their track when they heard the familiar voice of Monty Mole.

"That won't be necessary. You just lost the game." The host stepped out of the elevator and retrieved the clue the players had found the day before. "If you look at it closely, you'll see that you had two wrong digits. Unfortunately, twenty thousand coins won't be added to your team pot."

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 0

Team Pot : 133 000 coins

"This sucks," complained Toad. "I feel like I'm back at the beginning of the game where we were losing every single challenge."

"That is not entirely true, need I remind you that we won some coins during the first mission?" contradicted Bootler.

Noki admitted that Toad was right. "It's just not the same, Bootler. You can't say we won the first challenge because so much bad things happened and in the end, our glass was more than half-empty." She looked glum.

"Your pot still stands at one hundred and thirty three thousand coins!" Monty Mole cheered them up. "Don't forget that the winner will go back home with that sum. Additionally, to be the winner, you have to find out who the Mole is, and I bet that the Mole acted scummy during this challenge."

The players eyed each other warily. Once again, the host's witty comment had the anticipated effect.

Grinning from ear to ear, the host went on. "Wasn't it Jojora's idea to put the pictures of the challenges in which you had won less than half of the money they were worth in the lost challenge pile?"

"Hey, we had no idea on what to do and the other two decided to go with it," grunted Jojora, not admitting that she had done wrong.

"How about Bootler who solved with ease all of the enigmas but failed to take into consideration the true meaning of one of them? And what about Toad? Couldn't he have suggested to help the girls who had a hard time winning a soccer match?"

"Everyone makes mistakes," replied Toad. "Besides, we couldn't have known that they were in trouble."

The host pursued. "It was very selfless of Birdo to take risks, only to be rewarded by a plus one. Maybe she did know what was inside the glass container, mmh?"

"I didn't think about it. I just did it," she justified herself truthfully. "And since neither Jojora or Noki wanted to do it, I just volunteered."

"Speaking about Noki, wasn't it strange how she deduced how the challenge worked once it wasn't useful anymore?"

"You can't seriously blame me for that... I couldn't know beforehand."

"Oh, but you could. Just like everybody here. After all, the Mole knew what was going to happen, didn't they?" Monty Mole laughed heartily. "Also, I'm sorry to tell you that you missed out on the sole exemption of this episode. Follow me, I'll show you where it was."

The players ran after Monty Mole and found themselves in the left aisle of the castle. Birdo looked at the scene, amused. "I see that Jojora isn't the only one who destroyed armors during the challenge."

"I tripped."

"Oh."

"Yup."

**Toad** : Jojora destroyed the armors? During one of her mighty tantrums, perhaps?

Monty Mole cleared his throat and pointed at the armor that Bootler kept on remarking. "This armor right here, was hiding an exemption. It was located in its helmet."

"How I regret listening to you Toad, the exemption would have been mine if I hadn't followed you."

"Well, if we had won the mission, you would not have said that," pointed out Noki.

Bootler surrendered. "True enough."

"That is all! I probably won't need you anymore, so you're free to do whatever you want to do! Until next time!" Monty Mole hurried out of the room.

"So, what do we do, now?" inquired Birdo. "Maybe we could visit the castle together? I don't know, I'm just asking."

"Why not?"

…

As the five players visited the first floor, and more especially the master bedroom, Birdo took that as an opportunity to talk with a player she did not often speak with. Toad was looking at a beautiful painting on which Mario and five of his friends were flying above the Rainbow Castle. Birdo watched carefully what the others were doing and when the coast was clear, she simply engaged the conversation with the mushroom. "Hey Toad, beautiful painting, isn't it?"

**Birdo** : I'm often seen talking with Noki and it's normal since we're in a coalition, but I rarely speak to the others. When I talk with Jojora, we argue, Bootler is quite mysterious and I can't get a good read of him, so I just thought : "Why not try Toad? He's the friendliest around here.".

"Yes, it is." Toad noted that Birdo seemed a little strange. "You're not here to talk about the painting, are you?"

"Weeeeell... Not really. Even though it is a beautiful painting, I can't help thinking about the game."

"Oh, I get you, I think it's the same for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if Jojora was plotting against us!" exclaimed Toad giddily. "You know, we should probably move. Just to make it look like we are actually visiting Mario's castle and not just exchanging information," he continued, looking outside of the window.

**Toad** : I'm not stupid. I know that Birdo wants me to tell her what happened on the other side of the castle, while she was stuck with Noki and Jojora. And I also know that she will repeat most of it to Noki since they are in a coalition. So why would I give her what she wants, you ask? Well, I see no reason not to comply. I see no point in hiding the truth from her except alienate myself from the others.

Birdo looked in the general direction Toad was staring at, and spoke up. "We never really talked to each other during this game. Most of the time, I was with Noki and Flurrie, while you were hanging with Pauline and Bootler, so I was wondering... Who do you suspect the Mole is?

**Toad** : Needless to say, I wasn't thinking she would be that blunt.

"To be honest, I still don't know. I have two potential suspects. And no offense Birdo, but at this stage of the game, I don't think I'll give you the two names," he added.

"I suppose I was a bit optimistic, but I understand you."

Toad smiled at her. "The truth is that I really don't know for sure that one of those two people is the Mole. For all I know, I could be totally off tracks. The night Pauline went home... I had based my entire questionnaire on her!"

"Huh, you did? I thought you were bluffing. But that means that you're pretty lucky to be here with us today, then."

"I can only assume that she did worse than me, or that she targeted someone who had no link whatsoever with the Mole."

"You probably know that I've been in a coalition with Noki for a long time, but you can still talk to me. I'm pretty sure she doesn't tell me everything either."

Toad raised an eyebrow. "You suspect her? That's strange, I thought you were very close to each other."

Birdo closed her eyes and turned toward the room's exit. "Sometimes, I feel like she could possibly be the Mole. Of course, I can't voice my suspicions otherwise she wouldn't trust me that much, even if I believe that she thinks the same of me. As far as I can recall, our coalition started on day one, although we realized it afterward."

Toad nodded his head and followed her outside. "Well, you're friends, so maybe your judgment isn't impartial."

Birdo looked at Toad intently. "Exactly. There's a tiny voice in my head that makes me doubt her because we're friends. Isn't that ironical? Plus, she's extraordinarily smart and she knows things that she shouldn't know."

Toad opened his eyes wide. "Just like me and Bootler! Except that our friendship is probably weaker than yours and Noki's. But we can't really leave Jojora and us out of the equation. You could be the Mole too."

"But the same goes for you," Birdo remarked.

**Toad** : Birdo is one of my suspects, but it seems like she's trying too hard for a Mole and most of the time she seems genuine. No, there is someone who is clearly more suspicious than her. Or at least two persons. Ugh, I'm so confused! Bootler, Noki, Birdo and Jojora all sabotaged and the clue isn't helping me at all!

**Birdo** : I didn't get names, but I know he suspects me a little. And from what I heard, I can safely say that he doesn't truly trust Bootler, so that helps me because I know that I can't ignore anyone. Right now, Bootler is at the top of my list, with Jojora and Toad following closely and Noki lagging behind, but that could change at any moment, my list is not definitive.

"Let's check the dungeon, I've been here before and it's really cool," suggested Toad after the two of them had finished their conversation.

…

"Woah!" shouted Noki, surprised about her discovery. "Look at Mario's wardrobe! It's just the same outfit over and over again!"

Bootler exited the room he was in and decided to talk to Noki. Jojora was also in the room, but she was writing something in a piece of paper and looked deep in concentration, thus, Bootler decided to leave her alone. Especially since he had heard her complain about her journal missing. "That is indeed a quite interesting sight to see. However, I doubt that Mario uses this castle as his home. It seems too...empty."

**Noki** : I was alone with Bootler, it seemed like a great opportunity to get to know him better...as well as the people he suspects the most.

"Poor Mario, he was actually a very good player and a fun player to talk to. I remember what he told us in King Boo's Mansion... He was so cryptic and hard to figure out, but he was also extremely kind and intelligent as well," Noki recalled, praising the fallen player.

"He was," nodded Bootler. "Unfortunately, it was his time to go. I suppose we cannot change the past..."

"Well, if I could change the past, I would ask him who he suspected before his elimination. That way I would know for sure that one of the player is genuine and I could try to narrow my list to some players," Noki admitted smartly. "I feel so lost in this game, how do you do to stay calm all the time?"

Bootler chuckled slightly. "It is only a facade. Deep down, I am unsure of what I do, but such is the nature of the game, you can only fully trust a player once they are eliminated, and once they are, you cannot talk to them anymore. However, I am feeling confident for this episode."

"It must be cool to know what you're doing. To be honest, I'm not really sure anymore. Jojora seems like the perfect culprit, but you have to admit that you and Toad are also suspicious," she winked cutely.

Bootler laughed once more, sounding refined. "As you are Noki, as you are... And I wouldn't count Birdo out. She did some, let us say...audacious sabotage throughout the game."

**Bootler** : I stayed vague on purpose. I would not want Noki to use my suspicions to move to the next round instead of me, as much as I like her. Besides, dropping hints here and there will most likely confuse her, which is what I intended to do.

Noki nodded. "I must approve, I did consider the possibility a long while ago, but now... I really think that she is a player, like you and me, if you aren't the Mole, that is."

"Which is for you to find out," smiled the ghost. "It would be amusing if we were in a coalition with the Mole, don't you think so?"

"I take it that you believe that the situation is funny, then," piped in Jojora which had now joined them. "Because I'm not the Mole, so that means that one of you will be deceived soon."

"Or maybe one of the players who were in an alliance has already been deceived by the Mole," insinuated Noki.

Jojora scoffed. "Well, no. Mario was the unfortunate victim of the Mole, not my victim if that's what you imply. As for me, I'm just a normal player with a grasp on reality. Thanks to Mario's elimination, I managed to erase one of my suspect. There's a player I've never voted for during the quizzes, so I know for sure it can't be them otherwise I wouldn't be here. I know I'm not the Mole either. So I have two suspects. If one gets eliminated during this episode, then I know who the Mole is."

**Noki** : I wouldn't tell her, but I was impressed. While Bootler and I were lost in a desert, Jojora had already figured the game. She's a dangerous player, no wonder she hasn't been eliminated yet.

**Jojora** : These players underestimated me, now they are paying the price. Unless they all manage to find out who the Mole is next episode, I'm guaranteed to reach the final three. It's inevitable, one of the two alliances will crumble.

"Or," began Bootler, "you could be the Mole. Which would explain why you are so sure of yourself."

Jojora smirked. "We'll see."

**Bootler** : Truthfully, it becomes more and more difficult to talk strategy with the other players, for the sole reason that the alliances are long established. Had they fallen apart earlier, I suppose we could have shared information more freely, however the coalition system prevents us from discussing openly. Not to mention that at this stage of the game, people tend to give away less information.

…

At the top of the castle, around dinner, the players were reunited around a round table, waiting for their host to arrive. While they had been told that there were no more challenge scheduled for the day, they somehow knew that they would have to participate in another one. The sky was displaying a nice shade of orange as the sun was starting to set. The four players and the Mole sighed, watching the beautiful scenery.

Noki broke the silence. "I wonder what we'll do..."

"I think I've an idea but I'm not certain," tried Jojora, pouring water in her glass.

"Please share, if you will," demanded Bootler politely.

"Our journals. I couldn't find mine, so I assume that Monty Mole took it. Now, I'm not sure as to what is going to happen, it will surely involve our journals, though."

"You're right Jojora!" clapped the host who had heard everything. The players jumped a little, startled by his appearance.

**Birdo** : Oh, Monty Mole and his sudden appearances...

"Anyway," the host cleared his throat, "I have a possible challenge for you guys. As Jojora deduced, the challenge involves your journals."

"I have a bad feeling about this," worried Noki. "When you say it's a 'possible challenge', what do you mean?"

"I mean that you don't have to play it if you don't want to. This challenge is worth ten thousand coins."

Toad looked around the table and spoke up. "I say we let Monty explain to us what the challenge is about. What do you say?" His proposition was a success.

"Well... The thing is that we designed three missions for you. I'll need someone to spin the wheel." As if on cue, someone pushed a wheel behind the host. "However, once you spin the wheel, there's no turning back. Who's feeling lucky?" questioned the host.

"I think we should spin the wheel. The worst that can happen is losing the challenge, right?" suggested Toad.

"I kind of don't want to risk my journal when only ten thousand coins are at stake," retorted Birdo.

Jojora smacked her forehead. "Are you dim? Toad is right, we can just lose the challenge on purpose!"

"Sorry, but I agree with Birdo. I'm not sacrificing my journal," confirmed Noki. Jojora snorted.

"Oh please, your journal and Birdo's are pretty much interchangeable! Bootler, the choice is yours."

**Bootler** : Jojora put me in a very delicate situation. I do not like it when they shine the spotlight upon me.

Bootler rubbed his temples. "Let us give it a try. If we have to burn our journals, we will forfeit."

"Very well. I still need a volunteer."

Jojora stood up from her chair and walked to the wheel. She spun it with all her strength and watched it stop on a pink area. She quickly went back to her seat and sat down. Monty Mole looked at a sheet of paper and nodded to himself.

"Good, this challenge is called 'Another Memory'. The goal is simple : all of you will have to exchange journals for the whole episode. Additionally, you are forbidden to change anything of what had already been written by the owner of the journal, you can't deteriorate his or her journal either. You can, however, write down your own thoughts in their journal. If nobody breaks any rule by the next execution, the money will be added to your team pot," explained Monty Mole carefully.

"Do we get to choose who gets our journal?" asked Noki hopefully.

"Of course...not. Otherwise, it wouldn't be funny, would it?" grinned the host mischievously.

"What would the other challenges have been called?" wondered Jojora.

"I can answer that. For the blue area, there was a challenge called 'Embarrassing Secrets', in which I would have ripped out a random page of your journal and read it out loud. The other players would have had to guess which person was the author of the passage. Three correctly identified pages would result in your pot becoming bigger."

"And the other one?"

"The green area would have let you compete in a challenge called 'Reduced to Shreds', in which you would have had to rip ten pages out of your journals in total to get ten thousand coins richer," the host responded.

"At least we didn't get the worse challenge," breathed Toad in relief.

"So? What will you do?" smiled the host as he laced his fingers together.

The players looked at each other, weighing down their options.

It wouldn't be an easy challenge.

* * *

_The players have a crucial decision to make! What will they do? I wonder... ^^_

_I would like to thank the five individuals who were kind enough to vote on the poll located on my profile. I would be more than happy if some other readers were to vote too, unfortunately, I'm not sure you can vote if you aren't registered. I will reveal the results of the poll once this episode has finished. ^^_

_As always, reviews are much appreciated, be they negative or positive. Thank you for reading and sorry for the long wait! This chapter is slightly longer than the ones I usually publish (except for the execution chapters which are often incredibly long)._

_Until next time! ^^_


	22. Scattered Orchestra

**Shilo Burbans (1)** : Well, I don't mind if you criticize the structure and everything, it will help me get better. ^^ I really don't mind your reviews, at all. Actually, it kind of motivated me to write this chapter. Only I was a little late due to the fests and everything. ^^''  
As for the translation, I'm afraid I won't do it. I don't really want to redo something if you know what I mean. Besides, they were quite long and even if I wanted to translate them, I wouldn't be able to for many clues are made thanks to playwords or thanks to the pronunciation of following words. However, I might do a second season in English if this one is a success (which it will probably be since I haven't given up at the first four chapters). I already have the players, the location, the elimination order (for the first five executions) and the first two episodes planned out. ^^

**Shilo Burbans (2) & (3)** : Thanks for your reviews and thank you for giving me your suspect list, it's always fun to see what the readers belive. ^^

**Charz** : You don't imagine how surprised I was when I saw your name in the review list ! I thought you had left this website, it's cool that you didn't ! ^^ Lol yes, I just had to make a reference to that torture that is the pool challenge. XD It's good to see that someone else likes the rude players ! ^^ Thank you for your review ! ^^

**Androids101** : Thanks for your review ! I'm sorry for Mario, I also believe he was a good player. However, I changed the elimination order so he didn't reach the semi-finals like he was supposed to. ^^' Thank you for giving me your suspect list!

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the players were still investigating Mario's Rainbow Castle and looking for the numbers which would allow them to ride the elevator to reach Monty Mole who was waiting for them. While looking for the numbers they needed, Noki realized how the challenge was designed, albeit she was a bit late, both groups made a mistake in one of the room they inspected and ultimately, they lost the challenge. But the coins were not the only things that they had lost as Monty Mole explained to them that the sole exemption of this episode was only obtainable during the mission, much to the chagrin of Bootler. After that, the players mingled separately and made use of their journal before dinnertime. When they got together, Monty Mole told them that he had a mini-challenge in store. The players were not sure whether or not they wanted to compete but they chose to give it a try under the recommendations of the swing vote : Bootler. Jojora spun a wheel and it was decided that the players needed to exchange journals for the duration of the whole episode in order to win ten thousand coins. Would they do it?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

22 : Scattered Orchestra

"So? What will you do?" smiled the host as he laced his fingers together.

The players looked at one another warily. Nobody wanted to allow the others to take a look at their journals, yet they did not want to be the first to raise an objection. Noki stared intently at her journal, located in Monty Mole's hands.

**Noki** : In this game, your journal is a double-edged weapon. If you keep it close to you at any time, it will definitely come in handy, but if you neglect it or allow other players to look at it, it can be your downfall. I've written many things in my journal, and I doubt the others have done otherwise, so it's kind of hard to just leave what lets you survive in this game to another person. I can't give it to anyone. Not even to Birdo.

"I know we have a lot of time, but you'll have to reach a decision sooner of later," Monty Mole reminded them.

"It's sort of hard to just say yes or no," replied Toad, mildly annoyed. "Those are _our_ journals."

Jojora rolled her eyes. "So much for that. Weren't you the one who wanted to give this challenge a try? You don't make any sense, Toad."

The mushroom glared at her. "Well excuse me, but I never said anything about accepting the challenge. I just said : 'Let's spin the wheel!', nothing else. But maybe you weren't even listening because it doesn't really matter to you!"

"As a matter of fact, ten thousand coins _do_ matter to me," scoffed the blue fairy, waving him off.

"It matters to me too, but my journal," trailed off Toad. "I'm not exactly sure of what you wrote in yours, but mine is very detailed. I've written everything I've done throughout this game, I detailed my impressions of the challenges, I ordered my suspicions and I even wrote down the clues I-"

Bootler coughed strongly at that moment. "I do not know why you are so interested in Toad's case, but I will say that the information contained in my journal is confidential. I do not intend to let you look at it."

**Bootler** : If my journal or Toad's were to hand in the hands of anyone else, we would be in great trouble. Toad told us that he had written everything he had done in his, so he might have written about our little expedition in Jojora's bedroom, back when Pauline was still in this game. I cannot let them know about this.

"Wait, you've got clues in your journal?" interrogated Birdo, as though Toad's sentence had sparkled her interest. "There isn't any in my journal... Maybe I don't have that much to lose if I just accept the bargain."

"I'm not sure," pondered Noki. "I mean, clues are nothing if you don't understand them. And at this stage of the game, they could throw us off and lead us astray from the Mole..."

Birdo seemed to be thinking very hard. "It's true... But we don't have much to lose either, do we? We could kill two birds with one stone : we get the money and the clues!" she exclaimed happily.

Noki closed her eyes. "Well, maybe you don't, but I sure do. Though it's true that the money is tempting... I'm not sure I want to follow you, Birdo."

"And we have our say in this, don't we?" Toad chimed in. Jojora rubbed her temples.

"I have nothing to lose, so I'm for the trade." Bootler chuckled silently. "What?" she asked, irritated. "If you've something to say, speak up."

Bootler smiled at her slyly. "Oh, it is nothing. I am simply baffled to hear such words from the mouth of the so-called 'most focused player' of this game. Player who robbed us of our clue, might I add."

"Oh, that's what you meant," realized Jojora, feigning surprise. Bootler nodded to himself, glad to see that he had gotten his point across. However, Jojora smirked and his smile faded away. "Well, that could have been troublesome, had I not been able to decipher it."

The other players looked at her worriedly.

**Toad** : Could she have understood the meaning of the clue? Oh boy, I sure hope she was bluffing, because it could be really bad if it were true!

**Jojora** : Thank you Bootler, for giving me the opportunity to pull such a move. Seriously, the looks they sent me... It was so funny, I doubt I'll ever forget them.

Noki was the only one who kept her cool. "Jojora, you said that you were going to vote for two players during the next quiz, and that you weren't sure of who the Mole truly was. So yes, don't try to destabilize us because it won't work."

"I'm voting for two people for insurance, and because I believe that I have a large margin of error, in view of the fact that some of you aren't even sure of their suspects. Didn't I tell you that I was confident for this episode?" she grinned smugly. "But anyway, that's not the point of this meeting."

"Well, you may have an edge over us, but my clues also give me an edge over other players, so I don't want to exchange my journal with someone else," refused Toad categorically.

**Bootler** : Toad mentioned that he had more than one clue, could he have been hiding them from me? Or was that a simple slip up? It sure is becoming harder and harder to gather concrete facts.

Bootler backed up Toad. "As do I. And, should this exchange take place, I will only say that the Mole is not the only one who can make us lose money."

**Noki** : Hmm, what? Was Bootler blackmailing us too?

"Well, apparently, it all comes down to me. So Monty, I will inform you that I don't want to give up my journal. We won't do it," finished Noki.

Monty Mole nodded. "As you wish, here are your journals," he declared, handing them back to their owners. "Well, this challenge was harder than it looked!"

"You can say that again," confirmed Birdo. "Can we go to bed now? This was a tiring day."

"Sure, you deserve it after all!"

…

That morning, Noki was the first one to get up. As always, she had tried to wake up Birdo, to no avail. The pink dinosaur was too tired and did not want to get up before she had too, so the blue-shelled girl went downstairs and headed toward the dining room.

"Nobody's here... It's kind of lonely," she stated as she sat down, waiting for Monty Mole and the other players to appear. As she started dreaming of the adventures that would await her later that day, her eyes drifted away from the table to the host's chair. She did not see it at first, but there was a piece of paper placed on it.

Noki stared at the spot for a minute or two before realization hit her. "Could this be...?"

The inhabitant of Delfino Island quickly retrieved the clue from the chair and read it aloud.

_Mole, the very individual that you have tried to catch for so long, it must be hard to actually play the game, so I will give you a clue : BTMF... Until we reach the end of the game, that is, but by then, you will probably be aware of who I am. So yes, you can choose to acknowledge my words. Hello to whomever you might be. Reorder this clue, and its meaning will become clear to you. Or you can dismiss them, do as you wish. Oh, before I forget, I'm the Mole. My name will remain a secret, as I do not want to spoil your game._

"So that was a clue!" she exclaimed, a little too loud for her taste. Her eyes darted toward the stairway but thankfully for her, she was all alone. She looked at her clue, trying to find its meaning. "'BTMF'... 'B' for 'Bootler'... 'T' for Toad... But then, what would the other two letters mean...?"

Her mind began to wander, once again, until she was jolted awake by a sound. She put her treasure in her pocket hastily and did as if nothing had happened. Toad and Bootler were approaching.

"Good morning, you two!" Noki greeted them, when they were in her field of vision.

**Noki** : I believe it's the first clue I've ever found, I'll be sure to make good use of it and to keep it a secret from the others. Well, I might show it to Birdo, since we're in a coalition, but that's about it. After all, Jojora, Bootler and Toad all seem to have already got at least one during the game. To be perfectly honest, I'm really glad I've found it, because when Jojora revealed to us that she knew who the Mole was, I was distraught.

…

Monty Mole had called the players for their second challenge of episode 6, and they were all motivated to win it. All but the Mole, that is.

**Birdo** : So far, we haven't been that successful. Sure, I can admit that the Mole did sabotage the challenges various times, but the other times it was our own incompetence which cost us the missions. We aren't really a tight group, unlike the people from the first season, but we have to join forces otherwise we might as well just give up right at this instant.

"It's good to see you again!" Monty Mole waved to them. "Today, we'll compete in another challenge, I hope you are all ready for it!"

Jojora bit her lip, as if to refrain from making a snappy remark. Monty Mole looked at her quizzically but shrugged it off.

Birdo raised her voice. "What is it going to be about?"

Toad followed her. "Are we going to wear crappy costumes?"

"How much is it worth?" questioned Noki soon afterward.

"Woah! Calm down everyone! Ask questions one at a time, preferably when I'm done giving you the instructions you need in order to win. But if you must know, I'll answer briefly : Music, the costumes aren't crappy, twenty five thousand coins," replied the host. "Now, if you will, follow me."

The players complied, and together, they walked until they reached Gate number Nine. Bootler spoke up. "I heard that they were going to change what is beyond Gate Nine, apparently, there is talk of another installment of Mario Party."

"Really? I wasn't aware of it," Toad chimed in.

"Well, the locals told me that it was only a rumor, but Mario and princess Peach are in charge of the project, and they wanted to keep it a secret from everyone."

"It would be nice if we were invited too, just for this Mario Party," Noki daydreamed. Birdo raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Toad and I will probably be invited, so we could tell Mario to give you invitations too! It's Mario we're talking about, though, I'm sure he already thought about it," smiled Birdo.

The little group kept walking until it was inside Gate Nine. There, they headed toward the second warp pipe but were stopped by Monty Mole. "I'll wait for you at the other hand of this pipe, don't forget to put your costumes on or it might cost you," warned them the literal mole. With that, he escaped toward their destination.

"Well, it cannot be helped, unfortunately," sighed Bootler. "I dread to see what kind of costume the host will make us wear..."

"Only one way to find out," shrugged Jojora, leading the way.

…

The players were delighted when they saw that their costumes were black formal suits for the boys and black long dresses for the girls, commonly associated with people playing in orchestras. While they were pleased, Jojora quickly realized that the girls' costumes could be a hindrance in a challenge.

**Jojora** : As I probably previously said once during this game to Pauline, dresses are not designed to run, it could definitely be the reason why we lose this challenge, should we lose it. I can't help but think that the Mole is responsible for that.

"What's this place?" questioned Toad as he exited the warp pipe. "It seems oddly familiar." Birdo put her hand on her forehead, sighing disapprovingly.

"It's your girlfriend's conservatory, can't you tell?"

"Ah," hesitated the mushroom. "Well, that's not like I'm coming here everyday. I've been here twice at most."

"Seriously?"

The mushroom smiled. "I'm a gardener, she's a musician, I work at the castle, she works at her conservatory. I have no reason to come here, at all."

"I guess you're right," mused Birdo.

Monty Mole cleared his throat to gain the attention of the players. "A guide should be waiting for us inside, please follow me."

Noki raised an objection. "What about the challenge?" But Monty Mole ignored her and kept walking toward the entrance of the big building. The players were puzzled, but they decided to follow him.

When they reached the great hall, the guide greeted them. They were all shocked to see that the great Toadofski himself was waiting for them.

**Jojora** : You must be kidding me. This guy is a legend!

**Bootler** : I appreciate Toadofski's music, it really is soothing.

"Hello everyone! I hope you will like the visit! Pay attention, it might come in handy!" yelled Toadofski enthusiastically.

"Huh?" let out Noki.

"Let's begin, shall we?" chirped the famous musician.

…

"-and this corridor leads to the scene, where our representations take place. This is the grandest room of this whole building, and quite a sight to see. This room was built in 1705, it's the original, we never changed it. I'll show you how beautiful it is," explained Toadofski, speaking clearly so that everyone could hear his words.

Monty Mole and the players had been following Toadofski for an hour, they were presently wondering whether the building had limits or not. Bootler and Noki seemed to be very interested in what their guide had to say, whereas Jojora, Birdo, Toad and even Monty Mole were beginning to tire.

**Toad** : This place was huuuuuge... I never went farther than the great hall, so obviously I couldn't know that fact before the visit. The building was cool, I suppose – I'm no architect. I guess Jojora could tell us specific facts about its structure since she did attend an Art School, not that we're really interested.

**Noki** : Truth to be told, I didn't really enjoy the visit. I mean, it wasn't uninteresting, but I don't have a passion for the history of one building. When Toadofski talked about anecdotal facts, I liked it. But when he was detailing the construction of one of the rooms, it was hard to focus. I basically forced myself to listen to his explanations because I had the feeling that this visit was part of the next challenge.

"Ugh, it's boring as hell!" whined Jojora, who was lagging behind the little group. "Seriously, does this guy even catch his breath sometimes?"

Toad complained too. "Tell me about it. I thought we were having another challenge but apparently we just have to face this torture." Birdo rolled her eyes.

"You guys are wimps."

Now it was Jojora's turn to roll her eyes. "Please, we're in the same boat. I'm not even sure you tried to care about what he's been saying since the beginning of this visit. Stop being hypocritical."

Toad also joined in and rolled his eyes. "Another fight? Seriously, we'd be more productive if you weren't always trying to pick up a fight, Jojora."

"We'd be more productive if the Mole wasn't present or if you guys listened to me once in a while."

"Yeah, yeah, it isn't like you've been performing poorly during the last few challenges," scoffed Birdo.

"At least _I_ did well during some challenges. _You_ never did," smirked the blue fairy. Birdo was boiling with anger, so Toad tried to calm the spirits.

"Do you think the visit has something to do with the true mission?" Jojora shrugged.

"Well, it could be a diversion. Remember last challenge? Monty said this episode was full of surprises." After that, they fell silent and followed the group at a distance.

Meanwhile, Noki and Bootler were chatting quietly while their guide led them to yet another room. Both of them were trying to determine in what way this visit was relevant to their next challenge.

"Hmm, I believe we could be asked trivia questions about the whole building," whispered Bootler, scratching his chin. "Who was the founder of this conservatory, could be a question."

Noki looked deep in thought. "Well, I hope we'll be able to pull it off, because I doubt the other three listened to him. Perfect sabotage," she added, sighing.

"Indeed," confirmed Bootler, "all they would have to do to justify themselves is to claim that they could not know beforehand that the guided tour was involved in the challenge. There is just so much to think about."

**Bootler** : While it was fairly obvious that Toad, Jojora and Birdo would not be interested in the explanations of Toadofski, we cannot overlook this kind of behavior, especially this late into the game.

…

"-and that ends the tour! I hope you all enjoyed it!" concluded the famous Toad. Most of the players replied positively whereas Jojora simply rolled her eyes, knowing full well that they were lying. "In any case, it was my pleasure, I hope to see you around!"

The composer waved to the players who did the same in return. After that, they turned to Monty Mole who had an almost imperceptible smile on his face. "Well, I hope you enjoyed the first part of our challenge."

"Well, crap," muttered Jojora, realizing that it was not a trick. The others did not voice their worries, but their frowns spoke for themselves. Monty Mole could not help but laugh.

"Let's begin the challenge, shall we? I'll lead the way," stated the host, walking toward one of the many rooms of the building. "Please don't lag behind, this conservatory is huge, you wouldn't want to get lost, would you?"

The players hurried after him, conscious that the place was a real maze. They went to the third floor and entered a room which had no particular features. It was a classroom, nothing more, nothing less. What was curious about it was that there were five tiles of different colors on the floor with a short table just in front of each of them. A single computer was also located near the window side of the room, next to what looked like a dossier.

"Players, welcome to your last challenge of this episode!" Monty Mole exclaimed loudly. "It is called 'Instrumental Search', and, as you can infer from its name, you will have to look for music instruments. However, music instruments alone won't be enough, you will mostly have to search for their owners. Yes, your job will be to re-form an orchestra."

"Doesn't seem that hard," noticed Birdo. "What's the catch?"

"Well, firstly, you will be timed. You only have one hour to accomplish your mission."

"Oh no... How will we do?" complained Noki, sensing the difficulty of the mission.

"And secondly, we won't directly tell you where the instruments and their owners are. Don't worry, you don't actually need to find their true instruments. I mean, you don't have to find the one they use everyday. Did I make myself clear?"

Jojora nodded. "We just need to find, for example, a random guitar and the guy who plays the guitar."

"Correct," confirmed Monty Mole. "If you succeed in finding the five musicians, twelve thousand five hundred coins will be added to your team pot, no matter what. You can win the same amount of money if you manage to associate each musician with his or her instrument."

"What about the colored tiles?" asked Bootler. "Do they play a role in today's mission?"

Monty Mole shrugged. "They should have, but the producers scratched it, believing that it wouldn't be feasible in such a short amount of time. The clues are on the computer, while the dossier besides it gives you the pictures of the musicians as well as the type of instrument they play. Do you have any question?"

"What was the point of the guided tour?"

"Don't you see? It was supposed to give you the locations of the rooms in which you'll find the musicians. I doubt you noticed it, but there is no map of this building, we withdrew them from the walls for this challenge," explained the host.

Nobody said anything after that, so Monty Mole thought it was alright to start the challenge. He ran out of the room and left the players alone. Noki grabbed the dossier and looked through it rapidly while Jojora went to the computer.

"There are five musicians," stated Noki. "And we are five. I think we should share the work."

Jojora was strongly opposed to that idea. "And give the Mole more opportunities to sabotage? No way!" Toad, however, agreed with Noki.

"If we were to make two groups, we'd lose much more time. And that way, we only have to memorize one profile."

"I would agree with Toad and Noki," declared Bootler. Birdo did not really care either way, so she shrugged.

"As long as we're putting money into the pot, everything's fine by me."

Smiling, Noki handed each player the profile of a musician. She took the last one who was a Piranha Plant going by the name of Carne. Carne was very recognizable since she wore a huge blue bow on her head. "I guess she stands out of the crowd."

"Mine is a red Pianta who doesn't look particular. I don't know if I'll be able to identify them at first glance," stressed Birdo.

"Mine is-"

Jojora yelled. "We don't care about the physical aspect of your musician, god! Just focus on the objective instead of loosing time like that! What's important is to find which instrument they play. We'll need to think fast to-"

Bootler interrupted Jojora. "I am very sorry for barging in the conversation, but in my mind, it is more important that we find the musicians. They are the ones that will give us half of the money for sure."

Toad grinned. "Besides, we already know that we have to bring back the instrument in order to win more money, so they must be small so that even Noki will be able to carry them."

Noki tilted her head. "What if there is a miniature?"

"I hadn't thought that way, to be honest. Sorry, I guess I was mistaken. It's just that mine is a flute, and a flute doesn't weight much so-"

Birdo looked at Toad suspiciously. "How do you know that it's a flute?"

Toad raised an eyebrow. "It says that this Gloomba's instrument is from the family of the woodwind and that it was first carved in bones a long time ago. As far as I know, a flute is a woodwind instrument and was one of the first created."

**Birdo** : I admit that I was a little skeptic at first, because Toad always knows the most insignificant things which help him in the end, but being around a famous musician might have given him a bit of an edge, not that I'm complaining. Also, Noki gave him a random profile, so he couldn't have planned beforehand.

Birdo backed off. "Sorry for questioning you!"

Toad smiled. "Don't worry, it's alright. Well, I'll look at the third clue on the computer, then."

5847-4632 = ?

Jojora was thinking hard about the instrument she needed to find. Finally, she gave up. "I can't figure it out! I know it, but I just can't remember..."

Noki cheered. "I figured mine out! It must be a cello! A string instrument made by a luthier, I can only think of that! My profile is the fifth one, so I guess I have to look at the fifth clue..."

In a room of thousand, only one shines.

As she made her way to the computer, she was stopped by Jojora. "You're wrong. A luthier only makes or repairs violins or guitars as far as I can remember."

**Noki** : I wasn't sure what to do at that point. Sure, Jojora must have learned things about music throughout her education, but I was sure of my own knowledge. Was she confusing me or was she helping me? Jojora's stance in the game isn't as clear as you'd want it to be.

**Jojora** : I'm sure of myself. It was kind of strange for Noki to doubt me while she would instantly believe everything Bootler says. I never revealed it to anyone, but guitars and violins are both string instruments anyway, so how could she know which one was the right answer?

"Why should I trust you? You don't even remember what your instrument is. Besides, a cello and a violin are built the same way, so they must make them too," Noki retorted. Jojora called Toad.

"Hey, Toad, tell her that I'm right."

"I didn't even know what a luthier was five minutes ago, I can't help you. Ask Bootler."

Bootler coughed. "I am not sure whether or not I have already told you, but I am nowhere near a scholar in this domain. I cannot help you. In fact, I need help."

Birdo tried to aid him as best as she could. "Our two descriptions sound similar. They are made of brass, but mine comes from the brass family while yours comes from the woodwind family."

Bootler rubbed the back of his forehead. "I can think of many brass instruments, question is, which one is the correct one?"

"But yours has a conical bore, I mean, it must look like a cone, somewhat... It's also light from what the clue says, so... Maybe it's a clarinet?" supposed Birdo.

"And what does "this is not a licorice stick" means? I do know that I cannot eat a music instrument. Toad, could you enlighten us?"

Toad sighed. "It might be the nickname of an instrument. You know, a thin and black instrument, like licorice. That's just a guess, though." He paused for a moment. "Isn't a clarinet made of wood?"

Jojora sat on the floor, looking intently at her clue. "I think so. And most of them are black. I think your instrument is a saxophone, to be honest."

Noki and Toad were both sitting at the computer when suddenly, Toad realized something. "I didn't pay attention to the tour, but you did. Do you remember if Toadofski said anything about room number reaching the thousand digits?"

"As a matter of fact, he told us that it wasn't the case."

"If I separate the numbers, I obtain one and two hundred and fifteen... So I think my room is located on the first floor! I'll see you later guys, hopefully with good news!" shouted the mushroom as he exited the door. Bootler quickly took his place as he believed Jojora was correct. He looked at the fourth clue.

Where all the roots are situated.

"The roots?" wondered Bootler aloud. "I do not really understand the meaning of this clue, unless it has a double one."

"Do you have an idea?" questioned Noki.

The old butler smiled mysteriously. "Yes, I believe it is located near a green area. And there is one on the first floor. I will go now, if you do not mind."

"It's okay," reassured Noki, struggling a little with her clue. "And I can always help Jojora and Birdo that way!"

**Bootler** : Toad and Noki both surprised me during the challenge. The former because he found out the meaning of his clue quite easily, which is strange because he usually relies on us when it comes to mental challenges, and the latter because she took really long and did not help as much as the previous times.

**Noki** : For Bootler to make such a hasty decision, it was somewhat suspicious. I thought his clue wasn't as straightforward as he did, however, we all had our part to play in this challenge. Mine was my first priority.

…

Toad was desperately looking for help. He had reached the first floor but did not know where to start looking first, and he was not sure he would have enough to time to locate both the musician and his item.

Meanwhile, Bootler was quite confident. He knew where he had to go, so this challenge was not really hard for him. He still focused on his task, however, for he knew finding the musician alone would not be sufficient.

Jojora and Birdo were also trying to work together but did not seem to make much progress, which frustrated them. They were not the only ones with problems, as Noki had reached a dead end with her clue.

With the mission being only one hour long, would the players succeed in increasing their team pot?

* * *

_Well, it's now your last chance to vote for the person you would like to win this game. I already changed some eliminations in the story because some of you liked some players over others, and this poll will surely influence me when I'll choose the winner of this game. ^^_

_We're nearing the end of this episode, after that, only one left before we reach the final ! ^^ I hope you enjoy this story ! ^^_

_Oh, and on a side note, I hope you all had a good Christmas, for those who celebrate it, and I hope that the festivities of the change of year will be good as well for you guys. ^^_

_Until then, see ya!_


	23. Melodious Departure

**Ice Empoleon** : Thanks for your review ! Yeah, I think that Mario was the honestest player of the show, it's too bad he left the game on a failure. Well, at least, he managed to help the others as much as he could during the previous episodes. Honestly, I would have never realized that funny fact (the one about the three exempted players who were the next to go) if you hadn't mentioned it. XD

Yes, I always leave three people without any exemption, it would be pretty unfair if there weren't at least two real players fighting to get to the next round. I doubt I would have given the three exemptions anyway. They were just there for the show (and for the twist).

I really like reading your suspicions. I realized that so far, more than one of your guesses were correct. I'm glad you like this story. Thank you ! ^^

**Too Lazy To Login** : I don't if it's your username of not, but that doesn't really matter anyway. Thank you for your review. I'm glad you like the story ! ^^

**Champ** : I'm glad to see that you still enjoy the story ! Majordome is actually Bootler's name in France, and it's quite fitting since it means 'Butler' (yeah, I have a feeling that the translators didn't really try hard to keep the wordplay). Thanks for your review ! ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players had refused to exchange journals for the episode, resulting in the loss of ten thousand coins and Jojora surprised everyone when she mentioned that she had discovered the meaning of the clue she got during the Clue Hunt challenge. After that mini-mission, it was time for the final five to tackle the last challenge of episode six. Monty Mole brought them all to Toadette's Conservatory, where they would be having their challenge. However, what he did not tell them was that the great music composer Toadofski was going to guide them through the building. After the visit was over, Monty Mole explained the rules of the new challenge and revealed to the remaining contestants that the tour was supposed to give them landmarks so that they could locate the musicians more easily. The challenge had started and most of the players were already in trouble, would they succeed?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

23 : Melodious Departure

One fourth of the time given to the players had already gone by and three of them were still trying to uncover the meaning of their clues. Birdo and Jojora still did not know the name of the instrument they needed to bring back to the room.

**Birdo** : The clock was ticking and we were really stressed, because we knew we had a time limit. The fact that we never did add money into the pot during this episode was kind of unnerving too.

"Oh my god! I know what it is!" exclaimed Jojora suddenly, still staring at her clue. "My clue says that you shouldn't try to pick your tooth with it. And you use a pick to play the guitar! Well, if you don't want to destroy your fingers, that is." She went to the computer and looked at the second clue.

Look for the head of this building.

"Oh, man! I still haven't figured out mine!" whined Birdo as she realized that soon, she would be the only one in that room.

**Jojora** : Birdo doesn't even _try_ to win the challenges. She's either the Mole or a bumbling fool, there's no in-between. Well that's what I believe, anyway. Not to mention that she could be the Mole and still be stupid.

Jojora ignored Birdo and asked Noki a question. "Any idea concerning my clue?"

Noki shrugged. "I didn't look at the other clues, I'm still stumped for an answer for mine."

**Jojora** : What I don't like about the coalition of Birdo and Noki is that they're both heavy suspects of mine. And they always do everything together, so it's hard to tell which one is really sabotaging, or which one is truly the mastermind.

Finally, Birdo gave up. "I might as well find the musician, we'll at least have an additional two thousand five hundred coins into the pot that way. Unless you can help me. My instrument is from the brass family and it has the highest register, do you know by any chance what it is?" she asked, hopeful.

"You'll have to manage on your own!" ordered Jojora, rolling her eyes. "As for me, I'm out, I think I need to find the headmaster's office, or something like that, because I don't remember having seen a statue of anyone in the whole building."

"Thanks for your precious help," replied Birdo sarcastically while Jojora headed out of the room. "She's really useless," commented the pink dinosaur afterward. "So, can you help me?"

Noki took one look at the clue and shook her head. "Sorry, maybe you should just pick a random brass instrument? Who knows, that might just work. Let's look at your clue..."

You cannot miss me, you have to pass right by me when you enter this building.

Birdo smiled. "Well, lucky me, I guess! I'm off to the great hall, see you later!" Then she proceeded toward her destination, leaving Noki alone in the room.

"See you soon!" waved Noki happily. "I can't believe I'm the last one here. The others had such an easy time with their clue, why can't I figure mine out?"

**Noki** : I was really desperate at that point, because I found out pretty easily which type of instrument I needed to give to the musician, but I didn't manage to understand my clue. It was a big let down, as I'm usually good when it comes to puzzle or things of the sort.

"It's stupid to stay here, I should go," she muttered to herself, standing up from her chair and reaching for the doorknob. She sent one last glance at the room, frowned and left.

**Noki** : I had the feeling that we were missing something important. It really bugged me, because it was so obvious too...

…

Toad was simply lost. The building was far too gigantic for one to locate themselves without any map. He wandered about the first floor, still on the lookout for room 215 when he bumped into someone.

"Ow! Look where you're going!" he shouted, without looking at the person who had pushed him on the floor, inadvertently.

"Ah! You're one to talk! Oh wait, that's you Toad?" questioned a familiar pink dinosaur.

"Oh, you're also looking for your musician, I guess?"

"Yup! I'm currently trying to locate the great hall, though. I hate this challenge! I really sucks."

"Don't remind me," agreed the mushroom. "I've been searching for room two hundred and fifteen for at least ten minutes!"

Birdo paused and looked at him awkwardly. She then arched an eyebrow and pointed at a sign hanging from the ceiling. "You can use the signs to make good progress. Don't tell me you never noticed?"

"Well, I'm rather short, aren't I?" Toad blushed, realizing his mistake.

Birdo laughed. "Well, I'm lost myself. I can't locate the great hall."

"Okay, so you just gave me a lecture but you're as out of it as I am," chuckled Toad. "Well, just follow that straight path and you should find the great hall," he added.

"Thanks, I'd better get going!"

**Toad** : It's hard to reproach anything to Birdo, because I'm like her. I don't really embarrass myself with details and make huge mistakes along the way. It's the same for her. You could think that she's been a blatant Mole all along, but I just know that it isn't possible. She's always trying her best. If she's the Mole, though, she's really good. And I'll probably be gone next.

. . .

Bootler realized that there was no Tanoomba musician near the green area where he was. He frowned and sat down for a moment, trying to remember where he had seen trees or flowers during the guided tour. While he did that, he saw Birdo waving to him, so he did the same.

**Birdo** : So like, after Toad helps me and gives me direction to the great hall, I see Bootler sitting on a bench doing nothing. He's not my prime suspect, that's for sure, but I still thought it was suspicious behavior. Especially coming from him... I still remember how he lost his part during the relative challenge.

Finally, Bootler stood up, as though he had understood something. "Outside of the conservatory!" he exclaimed a little too loudly which attracted the stares of many persons. The old butler smiled to himself and headed out of the building.

**Bootler** : I must say, this challenge was quite hard. Not only did we have a time limit, but we also had trouble locating our objectives.

…

Birdo soon found herself in the great hall and scanned the area to find the red Pianta. Unfortunately, she did not find any red Pianta in the crowd after five minutes. She was starting to think that she had misunderstood her clue when she caught a familiar sprout from the corner of her eyes.

"Of course, I'm so stupid. I should've known it," she shook her head, exasperated of her own reflection skills.

The pink dinosaur went to the reception center and found the musician.

"Well, hello there!" she greeted warmly. "I'm a player from The Mole! I believe I might need your help!" The Pianta nodded at her and smiled before following her.

…

On the third floor, Jojora was looking for some help. She thought this floor was a good location for the headmaster's office, so she was walking at a fast pace until she found someone willing to give her some information.

"Hey! You!" she called, a little abruptly.

"Yes? How may I help you?" asked a blue Toad who looked fifteen at the most.

Jojora smiled to him. "I need to find the headmaster's office. I'm from a show, you know and I-"

She stopped when she remarked that the Toad was smiling slyly and that his eyes darted to his right. The Toad giggled lightly at Jojora's reaction.

"Wow, talk about being lucky," she said, almost impressed. "So, you're the one I've been looking for, little guy?"

"Yes!" He was giddy and very excited to know that he was going to be on national TV.

**Jojora** : As always, Jojora overcomes what's thrown at her. I wouldn't be surprised if the others were simply lost somewhere.

"Let's try to find you a guitar, shall we?"

…

As to Noki, she was also looking for a Piranha Plant with a blue bow on her head. While she did not think it would be that troublesome to find her, she clearly did not know where she should start looking.

"Half a hour in, and still no clue as to where I should find this musician," she sighed to herself.

Unbeknownst to her, the musician, Carne, was patiently waiting behind the door Noki had just passed.

…

"Finally!" shouted Toad. "I finally found you!"

He received weird stares from the people in the room. A Gloomba wondered what he wanted. "You found what?"

"You! You're the musician I need to find, aren't you?"

"Huh? I'm afraid I'm not."

Toad was crestfallen. "But... My clue said I would find my musician in room two hundred and fifteen..."

Suddenly, the whole crowd erupted in a fit of laughter. "Well, it's room two hundred and fourteen, here."

"Oh."

Toad quickly exited the room and knocked on the opposite door.

"Finally! I finally found you!" he yelled, again.

**Toad** : Man, talk about an embarrassing moment...

…

"Oh! Oh my!" breathed Bootler. "I think I was completely mistaken this entire time."

**Bootler** : I am ashamed of myself. It took me a good half a hour to finally understand that the 'roots' my clue seemed to point to meant the 'origins'. It seems that I need to find something related to the creator of this building and I suspect that I already know where I should search.

Bootler entered the building again and floated rapidly toward the second floor. There, he looked for the treasure room, where were exposed important relics linked to the conservatory's history. The old butler quickly found the room and walked through the door. He did not have to search any longer for an orange Tanoomba was waiting next to the statue of the founder of the conservatory. Bootler cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"What can I do for you?" asked the orange Tanoomba which name was Tanoo.

"I believe you are the one I am looking for, would you be so kind as to follow me, please?" inquired Bootler politely.

"Sure," shrugged Tanoo.

What Bootler did not know was that Tanoo was not a musician at all. Indeed, unbeknownst to the Boo, the Tanoomba he was talking to was a helicopter pilot and the runner up from the second season of The Mole. Pronouncing two key words in front of him would result in obtaining a hidden clue to the Mole identity.

Unfortunately, these two words would never be uttered in front of the Tanoomba.

…

Birdo and the red Pianta, whose name was Rock, were trying to find an instrument. Well, Birdo was, while Rock just followed her. The pink dinosaur was wandering aimlessly when she suddenly noted that someone had an instrument in their hand. She clearly saw that it was a trumpet and a trumpet was part of the brass family.

"Excuse me!" she called, waving for the Birdo who had the trumpet in his hand. "Could you please lend me your trumpet for some time?"

The Birdo looked at her warily. "Hmmm... I'm not sure. I don't know you, so..."

"Please," begged Birdo, "It's very important. And it will take around twenty minutes. You can come with us if you want."

The Birdo was reluctant, but finally gave in. "Fine, lead the way."

"Thank you! We might add five thousand coins to our pot thanks to you two!"

…

Monty Mole looked at his watch. The players were already forty five minutes in the challenge. They did not have much time left. "I wonder how they'll do," murmured the host to himself.

…

"Where can I find a guitar?" wondered Jojora aloud. "I suppose you can't tell me, can you?"

"Sorry!" replied the little Toad.

"It's alright. Hey, what's this sound?" Jojora stayed still for a moment, trying to determine where the music was coming from. "Okay, it's definitely ahead and I think I heard a guitar..."

Jojora and her new companion made their way toward the source of the noise and entered the room. There, a band seemed to be practicing their skills. The leader, a Clubba, did not seem very pleased by their irruption.

"What do you think you're doing you two?" he asked aggressively.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Sheesh. You're making a fool of yourself in front of the world, I hope you're happy." That remark shut him up. "I wanted to know if you guys had a guitar of some sort that I could borrow for fifteen minutes or so."

"Take this one," offered a Crazee Dayzee. "We don't need it, it's a spare."

Jojora took the guitar and thanked her. "You don't know how much it helps. Thanks, and good luck!"

With that, she and her musician walked out of the room toward victory.

**Jojora** : The beginning of the challenge was sort of hard, I agree. But once you had discovered the meaning of your clues, it became a piece of cake.

…

"In a room of thousand, only one shines..." Noki had been repeating the riddle to herself for quite some time, believing that a miracle could happen. "In a room of thousand... It must be a very big room. Only one shines... A star? No, that can't be... Wait."

Suddenly, Noki turned around and made a dash toward the scene.

**Noki** : Have you ever felt, when in a dire situation, your abilities multiplied tenfold? It is a common phenomenon actually. The more serious the situation is, the stronger you will be. You usually feel a greater rush of adrenaline in a life or death situation, though.

Carne the Piranha Plant was waiting, illuminated by the spotlight. When she saw Noki, she stood up from her position and went toward her.

"Good afternoon, I'm Noki!"

"Hi, the name's Carne!"

"Say, do you know where I could find a violin?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," apologized Carne.

**Noki** : I decided to go along with Jojora's guess. That way, if it's wrong, that will teach her a lesson, and if it's right, we'll win the coins. It's a win-win situation.

…

Birdo and her two followers had made it to the initial room, where they were currently waiting for other players to arrive. Jojora and her musician arrived shortly after the first trio. They looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

**Jojora** : Birdo and I weren't even the first to depart from the room, what could have happened to Toad and Bootler? They are almost as suspicious as Birdo and Noki.

**Birdo** : Only Noki was left when I exited the room. And I was the first one back. Our chances didn't look good.

"So, you found your instrument?" Jojora questioned.

Birdo shrugged. "I took a guess and asked Bribo to give me his trumpet."

"A trumpet _is_ a brass instrument, after all. Well, I hope the others will be back soon enough."

The two musicians went to their assigned desks and the others resumed waiting. Birdo was alarmed.

"We only have five minutes left, what are they doing?"

"Sabota-"

Jojora was cut off by Bootler and Tanoo, who panted heavily as they reached the room. Immediately, Jojora noticed that something was not right. "Bootler, where's the instrument? I don't see any saxophone around here."

Bootler shook his head strongly. "I would not have been able to come back in time if I had looked for the instrument. I thought two thousand five hundred coins were better than zero," he answered smartly.

Jojora was upset, but she tried to control herself. "You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?"

She was once again cut off by another entrant. Noki and her musician were also back. "Good thing I paid attention to the tour, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come back here with an instrument in such a short time," she muttered. "I decided to bring a violin, like Miss Jojora said," Noki laughed, soon followed by Birdo.

"Whatever, see if I care," Jojora snarled.

"So, we are waiting for Toad, I assume?"

"No duh. What the heck is he doing?"

Noki smiled. "I saw him on my way, he shouldn't be long."

"Assuming that he knows his way," pointed out Bootler.

"Well, I could always bring him here," proposed Noki.

"That might be a good idea, especially since we don't have much time left."

Noki left the room and her musician accompanied her, to the surprise of the other contestants. Tanoo informed them that all the musicians had been told to follow the player they were with. When he finished, Toad and the Gloomba arrived, laughing.

"...and so, the bartender asked if there was a Hugh Yass in the room. Huge ass, get it?" joked the Gloomba.

"Oh my god, that was awesome!" laughed Toad. He then noticed the glares of the other players. "What?"

Jojora sighed exasperatedly. "Noki just left to look for you. We need her back in time."

"Okay," muttered the mushroom, calling after Noki in the corridors.

Birdo frowned. "We might have just lost ten thousand coins because of your eagerness," she told Jojora and Bootler.

Fortunately, Noki heard Toad's calls and they came back together just in time. Exactly fifteen seconds after their arrival, Monty Mole opened the door and greeted the new faces. "Greetings, everyone!" He then gave a grand smile. "I am very happy to tell you all that no rule has been broken during this challenge!"

The players cheered lightly.

"Let's start with Birdo!" decided Monty Mole. "I see the musician she needed to bring here! And, what instrument do you play?" he asked the red Pianta.

"The trumpet!"

"Congratulations, Birdo! You added five thousand coins to the pot! Now, what about Bootler?"

Bootler held his head low. He knew that he had failed the second part of the challenge. "Unfortunately, you only brought back Tanoo, so you only gain two thousand five hundred coins."

Toad and Jojora, who had been glancing at the orange Tanoomba every now and again, suddenly realized what this meant. "The runner-up from last season!" they both yelled at the same time. The others looked at them, confusion visible on their faces.

"Indeed, Mister Tanoo Kie was the runner-up from last season, if you had pronounced the words 'The Mole' before him, he would have given you a clue to the Mole's identity."

"Sorry guys," he shrugged. "But butler guy over here never even told me he was from this show, so yeah... You just lost an opportunity! But hey, no biggie, I'm sure you all have an idea as to who the Mole is by now," reassured them Tanoo.

"Let's see how Toad did. He managed to found his musician, but was a flute really the instrument of his musician?"

"It sure was!" smiled the Gloomba.

Birdo grinned dumbly. "It baffles me how someone without hands can play the flute."

"I can also swing a club or carry things without arms, so I don't see any problem in this!"

"Toad did add another five thousand coins to your pot," reminded Monty. "Did Noki have the same success?"

"She did bring me here, with what looks like a violin! Too bad it only looks like a violin, because that thing is a viola," explained Carne.

"What? But it looked like a violin!" came Noki's surprised voice.

Carne smiled apologetically. "They look similar, but a violin is lighter and smaller." Jojora threw her arms in the air, exasperated.

"Anyway, so far, you won fifteen thousand coins. Did Jojora add an additional five thousand coins into your pot?"

"Yes, she did!" chirped the little blue Toad. "I play the guitar!"

"All is well that ends well," finished Monty Mole. "You added twenty thousand coins to your team pot, not too shabby!"

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 25 000 – 5 000 = 20 000

Team Pot : 153 000 coins

The players cheered loudly, this mission was clearly the first success of episode six. Monty Mole waited for the noise to die down and went on with his announcement. "Tonight, we'll have our sixth execution. Be prepared, you're entering the last and crucial part of the game. One wrong move could very well be the end for you."

The players looked at him defiantly. They were all ready to take the quiz.

"Naturally, you have some time to think your answers through. With all the suspicious things that happened during this episode, it must be hard to uncover the truth. The headmaster will receive you at eight P.M, don't be late!"

With that, Monty Mole beckoned to the players and escaped the room. Birdo thanked Bribo for his time and gave him his trumpet while the others all bade goodbye and left the room. Tanoo followed Monty Mole and the players then decided that they should bring back the other instruments to their owners.

…

When the players decided to split up to think about their options for the next quiz, Noki pulled Birdo apart and showed her the clue that she had acquired earlier on the same day. The two females hid in a room where people were rehearsing and started to chat.

"So, you said you found that this morning while nobody was here?" Birdo wanted to make sure that she had heard correctly.

Noki nodded. "Yes, it was folded on a chair. Of course, there's no way to know who left it or even who wrote it for that matter. However, since we're in a coalition, I think you have the right to see it too!"

"Thanks! You're really cool Noki, I don't think many people would have shared such an important clue!" she praised.

**Birdo** : Noki isn't only an alliance partner, she's my friend. A true friend. Whether she is the Mole or not doesn't matter to me, because no matter what happens, I'm sure we'll stay in touch after the show is over.

Noki tried to hide her embarrassment. "Well, thanks, but we really need to work fast on that one. Since Jojora seems to know who's the Mole, we're up against Toad and Bootler. And Bootler is awfully confident during the quizzes."

"Well, if he's the Mole, he doesn't really have to be worried, right?"

"You never know. He could bluff."

"True... So, do you think you have a lead? Because I don't really know what 'BTMF' means."

Noki pondered for a moment. 'B' for Bootler. 'T' for Toad. 'MF' for... Master Female?" she guessed randomly. Birdo stared at her blankly for a moment before she let out a laugh. The people in the room sent them strange look, but they were ignored.

"There are four letters. We are five remaining contestants. Maybe the contestant which letter doesn't appear is the Mole?"

"That would mean that the Mole is a female then. And I don't see any 'J' anywhere," noted Noki.

"Right... Well, what about : 'Beware The Female Mole'?"

"That's interesting. But I'm not the Mole, nor are you. So that would leave Jojora."

"Unless Bootler or Toad is a female, then yes."

Noki shook her head. "But when you look at it, Bootler and Toad sabotaged more than Jojora, right?"

Birdo shrugged. "I don't know. She did some things which cost us money. And besides, the Mole doesn't need to sabotage everything." Noki raised an eyebrow.

"How would you know that?"

"'Cause I played it all along!" laughed Birdo. Noki soon joined her.

…

Jojora was alone. Ever since her alliance partner had been executed, she had been pitted against four players. She could not form alliances anymore either, so she had reached a dead end.

**Jojora** : Let's see. Toad doesn't want to make an alliance with me because I apparently accused him falsely before. Bootler won't make any commitment, which is understandable since he already has an alliance with Toad. Not to mention that I never gave him my clue. Birdo hates my guts and Noki is her alliance partner. But you know what? I really couldn't care less, because I'm sticking for another episode and hopefully until the end!

She wrote some things in her journal and shut it afterward. She then proceeded to go to the headmaster's office since she had nothing better to do. On her way, she saw Toad and Bootler who were conversing quietly.

"So, what's the plan for tonight's quiz? Birdo has a plus one, she's guaranteed to reach the final four!" panicked the mushroom.

"You seem to forget that Jojora knows who the Mole is. I would not underestimate her, she is quite sly."

"And if Noki's the Mole, that means that we'll be up against one another!"

"If that is the case, there is not much we can do to avoid it. However, I do not think that our fate is predetermined, we have our own weapons after all. Nobody has an exemption this time around, it might help our chances," the old Boo stayed positive.

"If you say so," muttered Toad, almost inaudibly.

**Bootler** : There is not much we can do right now. No need to panic before the quiz, we are already stressed enough when we take it usually. We will all get what we deserve, in the end.

…

To everyone's surprise, that night's dinner was hosted by Toadette, the current headmaster of the conservatory. The dinner was really good and everyone was chatting happily.

"You know, I kind of wonder why this place is called 'Toadette''s conservatory. You weren't even born when it was first built," pointed out Birdo.

"Ah, well, let's just say that I'm not the only one who was called Toadette. Back then, one of my ancestors had the same name as myself."

Noki sighed. "I really don't want to leave this table." The players looked at each other, understanding full-well Noki's worries.

Monty Mole opened the door suddenly. "Unfortunately, you will have to. I wish you all the best of luck for tonight. I need a volunteer to take the quiz."

Jojora stood up. "I will," she declared, smirking.

"I wish I had her confidence," stated Bootler, sounding impressed. Toad gave him a bored look.

"You're already confident enough, leave us some."

…

_ 1) What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Jojora** : This is it, I can't turn back. I'm voting for two players. So I will split my answers accordingly. Funnily, I suspect a female and a male. I'll try to answer the quiz as fast as possible. You never know, the others might luck out, I've never trusted my luck.

_ 2) During the challenge Another Memory, did the Mole agree to give their journal to someone else?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Birdo** : During the challenge, Toad was like 'yes, let's do this guys!' and then, when he learned the mission's contents, he immediately backed down giving as a pretext the fact that his journal was valuable. He was also quickly joined by Bootler who ultimately convinced Noki not to change journals. It was really odd, if you see what I mean.

_ 3) During the challenge Lost Castle, Lost Digits, which aisle did the Mole search?_

_-The left one_

_-The right one_

**Jojora** : Toad and Birdo were incredibly stupid during the challenge. One said that we should split up, the other made terrible groups. I mean, what kind of moron makes groups based on gender? From what I understood, Bootler tried to get the exemption many time during the challenge and Noki was a deadweight. Everyone could be the Mole.

_ 4) During the challenge Lost Castle, Lost Digits, did the Mole obtain a plus one?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Bootler** : I say, it was a most daring move coming from Birdo's part. I would have never put my hand in that container since it could have contained a minus one or even worse things. However, I find quite amusing to see that there was a test of courage in the castle of one of the most valiant men the world has ever known. Very fitting.

_ 5) Did the Mole pay much attention to Toadofski's guided tour, in Toadette's Conservatory?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Noki** : The players should all know by now that whenever a special event occurs, it _will_ be important in a later challenge. There's no other way around it. So when I saw that Toad, Birdo and Jojora didn't pay attention to the rules, I knew that we would pay the price.

_ 6) What was the species of the musician the Mole needed to bring back during the 'Instrumental Search' mission?_

_-A Toad_

_-A Piranha Plant_

_-A Gloomba_

_-A Pianta_

_-A Tanoomba_

**Noki** : It baffles me that Bootler never realized that his musician was a player from the previous season. There's no way he never heard of it from the so-called expert of the game, also known as Toad. These two are in a coalition, they must have talked about it at some point of the game.

_ 7) During the mission 'Instrumental Search', which instrument did the Mole need to bring back?_

_-Guitar_

_-Saxophone_

_-Trumpet_

_-Violin_

_-Flute_

**Jojora** : Noki never told us her clue in its entirety. She might have omitted something in purpose, because I'm one hundred percent sure that the producers did their job right. Not to mention that she was the last one in the room, nobody watched her movements.

_ 8) During the mission 'Instrumental Search', did the Mole bring back the right instrument?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

_-The Mole did not bring an instrument _

**Toad** : It kind of makes me laugh that the two players who paid attention to the the visit didn't manage to find the correct instrument. I mean, it's just downright ironical, right?

**Birdo** : We could have lost many more coins if Toad hadn't managed to stop Noki from going too far in her search. Bootler was the one who suggested that she should look for him, and Jojora forced Toad to do the same. Monty Mole returned to the room _just_ after they had entered. Imagine for an instant that they were not present when he arrived. We would have lost more than seven thousand coins!

_ 9) What is the Mole's job?_

_-Fashion Designer_

_-Gardener_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Butler_

_-Sculptor_

**Bootler** : I chose to take this quiz, basing my answers on two different individuals. I know that Jojora, Noki, Toad and Birdo are most likely doing the same. They will take their quiz as fast as possible and self-destruct. I believe that I am the only one who takes the time to think through every question, and that fact alone shall carry me to the end of this journey.

**Toad** : This episode was full of surprises. We lost coins, we won some. Overall, I think we did good, but the Mole still impeded our progress. If I go home tonight, I'll be disappointed but that would mean that I didn't deserve to win the game. If I pass this episode, I'm confident I can reach the final and possibly win it all.

_ 10) Who is the Mole?_

_-Jojora_

_-Noki_

_-Bootler_

_-Birdo_

_-Toad_

…

Sitting before the majestic scene of Toadette's Conservatory, Monty Mole beckoned the players in. One by one, they sat in one of the five chairs which were disposed on the scene. The millions of empty seats located before their eyes seemed to be causing them anguish as each of them stared at the endless sea of red with a blank look. Monty Mole cleared his throat loudly and everyone fixed their eyes on him.

"As you already know, one of you will be executed from the game. Being executed means that you must leave the game immediately with no chance of ever coming back," he explained, his voice booming. "Tonight, you will face your sixth execution, you should already be familiar with the rules, but I will humor you once more."

Monty took a rather long pause and continued. "One by one, I will enter your names inside my computer, if a green light appears then you are safe. However, if a red light appears, it means that you are the Mole's sixth victim and that your game is over." Monty Mole looked at them intently. "Nobody has an exemption, meaning that everyone could go home tonight."

The players sent each other worried glances. The host was not handling them carefully.

"Who wants to go first?" he asked the dreaded question.

Immediately, Jojora's hand shot up. She wore a confident look on her face and felt pretty relaxed. The spotlight shone on her, she would knew in an instant whether she would stay in the game or not.

"Jojora," muttered the host.

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

She nodded as she was enveloped by a green light. An alliance would crumble tonight. Since nobody wanted to volunteer, Monty Mole decided to choose for them. "Let's see if the outnumbered males managed to pass."

"Bootler," he called. The old Boo tensed up in his chair but his face remained as stoical as usual.

**B-O-O-T-L-E-R**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Bootler mimicked Jojora and nodded to himself. Seeing a green light calmed his mind.

"Toad!" he exclaimed loudly. The mushroom did a double take and breathed heavily as his named was typed into the computer.

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

He sighed loudly but quickly regained his composure and sent an apologetic smile to Noki and Birdo. That night, one of the kindred spirit of this game would leave. The two girls refused to look at each other and it seemed that tears were already appearing in their watery eyes.

"Noki."

The blue-shelled girl stared at the floor the entire time. The atmosphere was heavy and the seconds felt like minutes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Monty Mole typed her name in.

**N-O-K-I**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Noki burst out crying and so did Birdo, when the green light shone on the inhabitant of Delfino Island.

"Birdo," came the host's soft voice. He quickly entered her name in since nobody was paying attention to the screen anymore.

**B-I-R-D-O**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED**

"Birdo, I'm sorry to tell you that you've been executed," announced Monty Mole solemnly.

Birdo immediately embraced Noki and comforted her. Toad had begun to cry and even Bootler seemed to be upset to lose the pink dinosaur. "I'm so sorry," sobbed the petite Noki. "Why did it have to be you tonight?"

"It's alright, but I'll miss you Noki. And you too Toad. And Bootler and Jojora too," she said, trying to dry her tears.

"It seems like we can't stop the waterfall," managed to joke Toad between two tears. Everyone half-laughed and half-cried at his remark.

"That was anti-climatic," remarked Monty Mole, trying to lighten the mood.

Birdo did not let go of Noki. "I'm so sorry I couldn't reach the final three with you!" she apologized, still sobbing. "I'm just so disappointed I have to leave this game, it was so fun! So please Noki, win it for me, okay?" she demanded gently, before she withdrew from Noki's embrace. "Let's go Monty," she ordered, tightening her grip around her luggage. She waved one last time and disappeared from the players' field of vision.

Noki did not comment on Birdo's execution, she was still too shaken. "Why did it have to be her?"

"It's like, totally surreal," commented Toad. "Birdo was part of our group, she was always in good mood and was doing her best to make us feel comfortable!"

"It is truly a shame that it was her time to go. I had become attached to her, she was an unique character," acquiesced Bootler.

"I almost feel bad for all the things I told her. She was really trying her best, apparently," Jojora noted.

"She was always having fun," Noki declared truthfully. "And it was her who welcomed me in the group at the beginning of the game. I'll never forget that moment... Who knew it would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?"

"Birdo was carefree, and sometimes careless, but she was Birdo, above all. We will definitely miss her," claimed Bootler.

"Yeah," agreed Toad who did not know what else to add.

"However her execution definitely shakes things a bit," mumbled Jojora. "It might change _everything_..."

She received quizzical looks from everyone but ignored them, staring outside of the window.

…

Birdo and Monty Mole were outside of Toadette's Conservatory, waiting for Birdo's means of conveyance. The pink dinosaur had dried her eyes, but she was still sad she had to go back to her home.

"I must look very stupid right now," she chuckled.

"Aww, don't say that. You're just a bit emotive! You were a good player, too bad that you scored the lowest on tonight's quiz," comforted her Monty Mole.

"I really didn't see it coming," confessed the fashion designer. "With my plus one, I was confident I would make it to the next round but..." She gave a forced laugh. "I suppose I didn't find out who the Mole was, in the end."

"You're really disappointed, apparently," noticed Monty Mole.

Birdo shook her head, grinning. "The worst...is that Jojora was right. She did beat me in the end! Ugh, I guess she is smart. There's always more than meets the eyes..."

In the distance, they could see a taxi approaching. "So, Birdo, what will you remember about the game?"

"The alliances we made, the games we played, the numerous hours during which we tried to pinpoint the Mole... The show in its entirety. And I don't depart empty-handed! I still have my journal with myself!" she finally smiled truthfully, showing her prized possession.

"What was your favorite game, exactly?"

"I liked Jewelry Robbery," reminisced Birdo. "It might seem strange to you, since we lost this challenge, but Noki and myself were working together to win an exemption. I felt like a Mole, and I realized how funny their job was! It was the only time I really tried to sabotage, with all due respect to Jojora."

Finally, the car arrived. Birdo shook Monty Mole's hand and sent one last glance toward the conservatory. Then she entered her car, sighing, she was not ready to go. She waved to Monty Mole until she could not see him anymore. The host stayed still for a moment before he finally turned to face the camera.

"And so ends the sixth episode! Only three genuine players and a Mole remain!" exclaimed Monty Mole. "The end is in sight, only one episode left before we know who reaches the Final three and potentially wins the game!" smiled the host. "But before that, we need to ask ourselves this question : who is the Mole? Let's ask the contestants if they are."

"Bootler, are you the Mole?"

"No, I am not."

"Jojora, are you the Mole?"

"You'll have to see that for yourselves."

"Noki, are you the Mole?"

"How could I be the Mole?"

"Toad, are you the Mole?"

"You must be kidding me..."

* * *

_So there you are ! Jojora, Toad, Bootler and Noki are the final four ! We still have two episodes to go before we reach the final three. ^^_

_I wanted to thank all of you for your support. I doubt I would have reached this point of the story without you. _

_Without further ado, let us see the results of the poll !_

Who should win 'The Mole : Festive Saboteur!' ?

_Tied for first place were Birdo and Toad, with three votes each !_

_Bootler occupies the third place with two votes !_

_Noki and Jojora were tied for last place, with one vote each !_

_Out of the contest were Mario (with one vote, but he was already voted out) and Kooper (with three votes, unfortunately, he was the first one out, so...yeah)._

_I also realized that unidentified reviewers couldn't vote on the poll. So, next time, if you wish to answer a poll but cannot, just leave something like :_

_'Vote for the poll : I vote X.'_

_If you want your vote to be counted, of course._

_Well, I believe that's all I wanted to say! Please enjoy and leave a review, if you please ! ^^_


	24. Fine Arts

**Krisetchers** : Thanks for your review ! And don't worry, you're not too late ! *throws mole gun in a lake* I'm glad to see that you were surprised by the way this challenge ended. It was kind of hard to write about, so I'm happy you liked it. I see why you wouldn't want Mario to win this thing. ^^ To be honest, I wanted to eliminate him at the end of episode 7, but since not many people actually rooted for him, I decided to give him 6th place. Thanks and good read !

**Koopa2pa** : Good to see that you're back ! ^^ I'm glad you still like the story. Yes, the characters are pretty diverse, though I want to shoot myself when I see what I did to Flurrie. I totally butchered her character. Oh well. Thank you for your review ! ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players were searching the many rooms of Toadette's Conservatory in order to find musicians and music instruments to earn up to twenty five thousand coins. The candidates had a bit of trouble understanding their clues, notably Noki, however, they all managed to bring back the musicians they were told to find, ensuring the addition of twelve thousand five hundred coins into the team pot. Three of them correctly identified the instrument that their musician played, those three being Birdo, Jojora and Toad. It was also revealed that Bootler's musician was actually the runner-up of the second season of the Mole and that he would have helped the players if only they had pronounced the name of the game show in front of him. Later, the players were mingling, preparing themselves for the upcoming quiz. Theoretically, everyone could have left the game seeing as nobody had won the sole exemption of episode six. In the end, it was Birdo who fell victim to the Mole's curse, leaving only Bootler, Jojora, Noki and Toad in the competition. Only four remain, who is the Mole ?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

24 : Fine Arts

**Bootler** : I am very fortunate to be here today. I cannot describe how happy I feel to be one of the four privileged players who reached the stage of this game. Like each game, it had its highs and lows, even though, all in all, it was an unique experience. I do feel bad for all the players that I have outsmarted and outlasted, however, I also feel proud for that same reason. I am also quite looking forward to what is going to happen in the later episodes of the competition. Milady, it is all thanks to you that I am currently here, I will see to it that you are not disappointed in my performance.

**Jojora** : In the final four, just as planned. Birdo didn't have what it takes to be the winner of this game, she was relying a little too much on luck. I wasn't particularly shocked when she was eliminated. Actually, I was glad, because that only meant that she wouldn't sabotage the last games we'd be playing. I am now one hundred percent sure I know who the Mole is.

**Toad **: Birdo being executed really shocked me. I mean, come on, she had a plus one! It's this kind of thing that lets you survive an episode even if you're on the wrong track - most of the time. I'm just baffled. She wasn't supposed to be eliminated. Not to mention that her execution raises another issue : there wasn't any tie, meaning that Birdo's score was two points lower than that of the second-least scorer.

**Noki** : I still don't understand what happened... Birdo had a plus one, so I never imagined once that she would leave the game! It's all my fault, I didn't get the meaning of the clue in time. I realized what it meant when I was taking the quiz, so I changed my answers to match my discovery, but Birdo had already taken the questionnaire at the time so there was nothing I could have done to save her... I won't give up, though! I'll follow her advice, try to believe in myself...and hopefully win this game. But for now, I have to rethink my entire strategy.

…

Four players were remaining, it was only a matter of days before one of them would be uncovered as the Mole and another as the victor of this wonderful adventure. Conscious that the end was near in sight, the four participants were determined to do their best, during the challenges and the quizzes. Those four people were Bootler, Noki, Jojora and Toad. Each of them have had many suspicious moments throughout the entire game, however, only one of them was the true saboteur, the Mole. For now, the players' heads were buzzing with thoughts, wondering what the Mole had in store for them. That is, except for the Mole, who knew exactly how they were going to act for the remainder of their saga.

"It's kind of lonely without Birdo," remarked Toad, eating a grapefruit. The players were once again reunited around the table of the dining room.

_The Mole, could they be parading as the happy-go-lucky yet forgetful mushroom, known as Toad?_

"Don't remind me," replied Noki absent-mindedly, picking at her food. "I wish she were still on the show."

_Or would they rather use the disguise of the shy, weak and intelligent inhabitant of Delfino Island, known as Noki?_

"Told you it wouldn't be me," shrugged Jojora. She looked at her competition, all the while grinning slightly.

_And how about the harsh and arrogant, yet clever blue fairy, known as Jojora? Surely, she could get the job done._

Bootler remained as calm as ever. "You should not assume that victory is yours just yet. Trust my experience..." When Bootler noticed the confused expression of Jojora, he developed. "You should never take things for granted, for the Mole might be playing you at this very moment." Jojora rolled her eyes.

_Dedicated, focused and mysterious, such are the qualities of the old ghost, known as Bootler. Would he be uncovered as the Mole?_

Monty Mole smiled to himself. "Only one of these four players is the Mole. Another would be the winner while the last two would meet the same end as the six previously eliminated players. One question. Who is the Mole?" he whispered to the camera, before turning to the players.

"I'm fairly sure I know who the Mole is. I've known them for a long time," added the blue fairy.

Toad and Noki looked at each other, confused. "Right."

Bootler put his silver cutlery next to his plate, indicating that he had finished eating. "So, what are we going to do, today?" he asked Monty Mole.

"I'll tell you once everyone's finished," replied the host. "So if I were you, I'd eat as fast as possible so we can start the challenge."

"We've done a lot of things so far," recalled Toad. "Sorting out luggage, looking for a treasure chest, competing against our loved ones, etcetera... This game is really full of surprises."

"Yes," nodded Noki. "But they aren't all pleasant. I don't think Kooper liked getting a minus one on the first quiz. He could have gone further into the game if he hadn't opened the envelope."

Monty Mole chuckled. "He knew that he was taking risks since he had more knowledge than any of you about the whole show, I think he saw it coming."

Jojora raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he have been at an unfair advantage?"

"He was eliminated first, doesn't that answer some of your concerns?" retorted the mole, smartly.

"During the short time he was with us," started Toad, "he never felt confident. He told me that contrarily to what everyone was saying, he was not advantaged. He then told me that no matter how much you know about the show, you could still be executed first."

"Hmmm... I guess it makes sense. This game revolves around the Mole's identity, not around the many twists which can occur," pointed out Noki. "I remember that I was suspecting Donkey from the second challenge to his demise," she went on, laughing. "We've all come a long way since then."

"And that is why you are all deserving to be here, for the penultimate episode of this game. It's also good to see that you remember what has happened throughout the competition, it might come in handy someday," concluded the host.

**Bootler** : For our host to make such a strange statement out of the blue, it was very peculiar. I was convinced that our next mission would deal with what previously happened in the game.

Soon, Jojora wiped her mouth with her napkin and Monty Mole took that as a cue to start the next challenge. "Well, now that you're finished, we can focus on your next challenge! I need two people who are feeling artsy. You have one minute."

Immediately, Jojora raised her hand. "I volunteer, I'm sure I can win this challenge hands down."

"But what if the people who don't volunteer actually are the ones who should be creative?" suggested Noki.

"Reverse psychology?" questioned Bootler. "It might be the case."

"Nonsense," declared Jojora. "They've used so much reverse psychology to have us screw up in so many challenges that I think we should send the most artistic ones there this time. Any objection?"

"Not that you're likely to hear them out," muttered Toad.

Jojora caught that. "You're correct." The mushroom could only roll his eyes.

"I'll be in the other group, then."

"Ten seconds remaining," reminded the host.

"And I'll join Toad," stated Noki, positioning herself by his side. Bootler nodded and joined Jojora.

"We decided that Jojora and myself were feeling artsy," the butler summed up.

"That's great!" clapped Monty Mole. "Let's go then! Next stop, Koopa's Tycoon Town!"

**Bootler** : I had a feeling that we had made the wrong choice.

…

The players and their host made their way to Gate number eight and suddenly stopped at once. Monty Mole spoke up.

"Jojora and Bootler, please follow me, I'll explain the rules of your challenge."

"What about us?" inquired Toad. "Don't we have a mission?"

"Yes you do have one, but for now I only need Jojora and Bootler. You won't play in the same mission," told them their host. Jojora and Bootler followed the host, leaving Noki and Toad by themselves.

"Weird."

"I also find it strange that we don't get to accompany them or even hear what they will be doing," voiced Noki. "I mean, our challenge also conveniently takes place in Koopa's Tycoon Town, so I don't really understand why we should be waiting here."

Toad sat down on the pavement. "I think..." He stopped for a moment, looking at the sky.

"Yes?" encouraged him Noki, patiently.

"I think we should be extremely careful during our own part of the mission. I'm pretty sure Monty will purposely omit some details when he gives us the rules and everything we need in order to win."

**Noki** : Monty Mole was acting all mysterious, we had every reason to be wary of what was to come. Besides, he had already lied to us on several occasions, so we knew better than to trust him completely.

…

After Jojora and Bootler had put on artist clothes, stained with colorful paint, as well as a beret, they emerged from the warp pipe located in a little park. Koopa's Tycoon Town was a very popular city, full of hotels. The traffic was important so they really had to be careful when crossing the many streets of the town. Finally, they reached a green building located just behind a two star red hotel. Monty Mole waddled toward the door and it opened automatically, allowing the two players to walk inside.

The interior of what seemed to be an art gallery was well-furnished. Bootler and Jojora went up the stairs – made of wood, like most of the things present in the art gallery – and were led to a room resembling a garbage dump. Confusion was written on their face.

"What is the meaning of this?" inquired Bootler, surprised. "Why is this room full of...rubbish?"

"I'm more shocked to see that nobody seems to care that this place is full of trash," commented Jojora.

**Jojora** : I mean, what kind of art gallery was that? Wouldn't they want to clean the place so that it would attract customers?

"Welcome to the first challenge of episode seven! I like to call this game 'Arts and Craps', funny name, no?"

"Oh, it's _sooooo_ lovely. Not," Jojora answered sarcastically. Monty Mole looked blankly at her for a moment, and then he resumed his explanation.

"Well, whatever, I suppose. This mission is worth twenty thousand coins and you will have approximately three hours to complete it," he carried on, walking toward the piles of garbage.

"Three hours? That is quite a lot of time," noted Bootler.

"Three hours to create a master piece, using only the things located in this room."

"What? Are you kidding us Monty? You can't create a masterpiece with crap like that! I mean, most of these things aren't usable!" yelled Jojora, thinking this challenge was stupid.

**Jojora** : You can't honestly expect us to devise a work of art with such poor material. It was as if Monty Mole wanted us to lose the challenge.

"You will create your masterpiece in the room located to your right," The host pointed at said-room. "You can only be in this room, or the one in which we currently are. Do you have any question?"

Bootler scratched his chin. "As a matter of fact, I do. How will you determine whether we win the coins or not? You never told us."

Monty Mole smacked his forehead. "Sorry about that, I had completely forgotten. Well, when your set time has elapsed, a critic will come and rate your creation. If you manage to score ten points over twenty, the challenge is in the bag. In the opposite case, you simply lose. Any other question?"

Jojora shook her head and started rummaging through the jumble. Bootler sighed and helped her.

"Remember, you have three hours!" shouted Monty as he left the building.

**Bootler** : Even with Jojora by my side, I was not confident that we would be able to score enough points with the art critic. Monty Mole did not give us a clue as to what she should aim to create, so it was a hard challenge since we had little to no directions.

…

Noki and Toad had been sitting for a good fifteen minutes when Monty Mole finally came back, urging them to follow him. They both complied and ran after the host.

"This way!" exclaimed the host. "If I were you, I would change clothes as fast as possible."

Toad and Noki decided to hurry but could not suppress an exclamation when they found what they needed to wear. "I knew this was a trap," commented Noki, shaking her head strongly.

Once they had changed clothes, they went out of the warp pipe to meet up with Monty Mole. "So why do we have to hurry?" half-yelled Toad, the noise of the traffic covering his voice.

Monty Mole looked at his right, then at his left, and decided it was safe to cross the street, motioning for Toad and Noki to follow him. "Do you remember how you decided to elect Bootler and Jojora as the two artistic members of your group?" he asked, without waiting for a reply. "Well, that was a trap."

Noki faced Toad. "Sabotage." Toad rolled his eyes.

**Toad** : There was some sort of consensus concerning this task. Noki, Bootler and myself thought that we should elect the two players who weren't feeling artsy. However, in the end, Jojora simply decided that no, we should choose herself and somebody else because that was what she wanted. You simply can't do as if nothing happened, especially in the penultimate episode of this game.

Finally, the players and Monty Mole reached the same place where Jojora and Bootler had been brought to a few moments ago. This time, Monty Mole led the players to the back of the building. Climbing up the other staircase, they arrived in another room which served the same purpose as Jojora's and Bootler's.

"I believe now is a good time to explain the true rules of the challenge," announced the host. "As I said earlier, this mission is a big trap."

"In what way, exactly?"

"We told Bootler and Jojora that they were to create a masterpiece with junk located in the other room. We told them that they had three hours to do so, and that an art critic would come afterward to rate their work."

"We?" inquired Noki.

Monty Mole chuckled. "I, if you prefer. But it really was the producers' idea."

Toad smiled and sat on a nearby chair. "So, where's the lie?"

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you haven't realized yet? Okay, let me enlighten you. The art critic won't rate their creation, they'll just determine which one is better : theirs or yours?"

"Oh my god," moaned Noki. "There's no way we'll win this challenge..."

Monty Mole laughed. "Just for your information, you are not allowed to step in any other room than this one, or the one with the materials. You have approximately two hours and thirty minutes to complete your part of the challenge. Good luck!" Monty encouraged them, before leaving the building.

"I have a feeling that we're doomed," Toad whined. Noki sighed and walked toward the other room.

"Shall we begin?"

…

Jojora was pacing in the room, her mind furiously working out a solution. Bootler simply sat on a table, waiting for the blue fairy's plan. The minutes were ticking away and the pair still had no idea as to what they should do.

Suddenly, Jojora stopped moving. "Symbolism!" she yelled. "We need to work on symbolism so that our masterpiece will have some kind of value."

"May I ask why we should focus on symbolism?" Bootler raised an eyebrow.

Jojora looked at him, startled. "Huh... I'm not sure how I should respond to that. I mean, isn't it obvious? Do you think we can make something pretty with what's in the other room?"

"I suppose you are correct," mumbled Bootler to himself.

**Bootler** : Jojora was in charge during the mission. I know nothing when it comes to arts. I can appreciate the beauty of it, as well as understand basic principles, however, that is all. There was not much I could do but depend on Jojora and hope that we would succeed.

Jojora found a pen in the room, and started to draw something on a piece of paper. Bootler glanced at it from his position and congratulated her. "You really are good at that."

"Well, what did you expect? I've graduated from a very prestigious college," she answered, not bothering to look up from her work.

Bootler nodded, although she could not see him. "Well, you know, you are labeled as a sculptor, so I assumed that you only knew how to sculpt."

This time, Jojora decided to look at the old Boo. "Honestly Bootler, I thought you were more clever than that. Yes, I'm specialized in sculptures. Ice ones, to be exact. That doesn't mean that I don't know jack about the other forms of arts."

**Jojora** : I've always thought that Bootler made it this far because of his intelligence, but maybe there's more than that.

"I see..." The butler paused for a moment. "Hmm, if you do not mind me asking, what are we going to symbolize?"

"Well, you know, things like love, life, or whatever. But that's a bit simple. I'd like to make something a little more sophisticated than a heart, if you see what I mean," replied the blue fairy.

"Yes, I doubt we would score many point if we were to go with a simple heart," agreed Bootler.

Jojora rubbed her temples. "So, my idea, is to represent the cycle of life."

Bootler was taken aback. "That is a nice idea, but how would you do that?"

"Well, for starters, our masterpiece must be round. We're representing the cycle of life, which I believe would be some sort of circle. We rose from earth and return to it as we begin to age."

"This concept is hard to grasp for me," chuckled Bootler light-heartedly. "However, I thought once we died, we would go to the sky."

Jojora pondered for a moment. "Depends on your beliefs, I suppose. Though I can safely say that your physical body won't grow wings to reach the firmament. Your spirit might go somewhere else... Don't you have friends who could give you the answer?"

"No. As I told you, as a Boo, I cannot comprehend this matter."

"Lucky you, I guess," shrugged Jojora. "Anyway, let's return to the initial topic of discussion. We'll divide our work in three parts. The first one, on the bottom left corner, will be a shade of orange and brown. Brown for the earth, orange for the rising sun. The second part will be a shade of green and light blue, for the grass and the sky. The last part will be a dark shade of blue, or simply black with some spot of lights, to symbolize the starry sky. That's the basic draft, we can always add details later on."

"I think you got it covered," replied Bootler, mouth agape. "I cannot believe it only took you such a short time to come up with that very good idea."

…

Toad and Noki were looking for something to use for their work in the piles of useless items. Both of them were not optimistic about the challenge's outcome, for they knew that the other group would probably beat them, anyway.

"This sucks," Toad could not help saying. "I mean, why bother?"

"At least, we will have tried. Besides, it could be funny and useful for the future!"

"Mmh-mmh," replied Toad, absent-mindedly. "In this case, what do you want to do?"

Noki stopped searching through the various objects on the floor and thought for a moment. "We'll do something unique," she decided.

"That's a bit...vague."

Noki giggled. "Well, I'm not sure myself, so..."

"I remembered something. One day, I was visiting a museum, and there were those pieces of abstract art. Basically, it was very random, but people still claimed that it was art. Maybe we should stop worrying so much and just give it a go," explained Toad.

**Toad** : We couldn't beat Jojora at her own game, so I proposed that we should simply create something really different from her, to have a chance to beat her. Well, her and Bootler, but I doubt he's doing most of the work.

**Noki** : I wasn't sure it was a good idea or not. Toad had a point, but I thought we wouldn't win with an abstract work of art. At least, it was better than nothing.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Toad exclaimed, suddenly. He knelt down and picked up a vase, vase that he showed to Noki.

"Please elaborate," she demanded, laughing.

"Okay!" he chirped happily. "Well, we've got this vase and this fishbowl, over there," he pointed at the other side of the room. Both of them went to the other side to retrieve the item. "And let's take this pink towel too!"

Noki was puzzled. "I don't really understand what's going on. Can you explain, pretty please?"

"Oh yes! Sorry, I was a little excited. Well, instead of doing abstract art, let's make something related to symbolism!"

"That's the exact opposite of what you just said, though, why the sudden change?" she inquired, still confused.

"Because of my new idea. Look, this fishbowl is spherical, like a head. The towel is pink, like the brain – well, I think it is pink. So we put the pink towel inside the fishbowl to symbolize a head."

"Oh, I see! You're so smart, Toad!" cheered Noki happily. "What about the vase, though?"

"It's easy. We'll put the vase inside the fishbowl. And inside the vase, we'll put random stuff. That will symbolize the nonsensical ideas that sprout in the human brain!" exclaimed the mushroom.

"Humanity has gone mad," realized Noki. "Is that the meaning of our chef-d'oeuvre?" Toad nodded.

"I think we have a chance to win this game, now." The both of them decided to return to their room at the same moment Jojora and Bootler chose to leave theirs.

…

"Weird. I could swear that I heard voices," muttered Jojora.

Bootler ignored her and floated toward the many objects littered on the floor. "Let us search for a base for our workpiece."

"There was a fishbowl here... Don't tell me someone took it?" asked the fairy, unnerved. Bootler raised an eyebrow.

"Do not be foolish. Who would take such an useless item?" Jojora crossed her arms.

"You're right. Let's find something else."

Bootler let out an exclamation as he found something. "How about a tire?"

Jojora shook her head. "Nah. Too black and thick."

"We have tools. We could cut it."

"Still, I think we should try something else... Something like- Is that a computer screen?" she asked rhetorically. "Yes it is! I' know what to do wit it!" Jojora walked back to the room with caution, leaving Bootler alone.

**Jojora** : I didn't want him to screw up, so that's why I decided to go back to the room alone. That way, I wouldn't be distracted and would succeed more easily in my own task.

Bootler found a bag full of earth that he kept as well as a tin of deep blue paint. Before leaving, he spotted a white towel that he took with him.

"That be enough for the top part," he assessed. Feeling pleased with himself, the old Boo made his way to the room where Jojora was. He opened the door just in time to see Jojora smash the screen of the computer.

"Okay, now I need to clean this mess," remarked the inhabitant of BeanBean Kingdom. Bootler was almost speechless.

**Bootler** : I entered our room and found out that Jojora had destroyed the computer screen. Why did she do that? We could have obviously used the screen to our advantage! And I did not see the point in removing the computer's screen.

"I...found something," he simply declared, resisting the urge to ask her why she had destroyed part of the computer.

Jojora turned to him. "Good, leave it here, I'll remove the shards in the meantime. Try to go back there and find something red. I want to make arrows to show that it is a cycle."

"Alright, I will see what I can do," stated the Boo before leaving the room.

Jojora was removing the shards from the inside the computer screen when she realized something. "Shoot! The computer frame is rectangular." She stood up and ran toward the door. "Bootler, bring back the tire from earlier, please, we'll need it too!"

Bootler easily retrieved the item and snatched green paper as well as glue to use for the grass. "Hopefully, that will be sufficient..." He then decided to hand everything to Jojora.

…

"Woah!" shouted Toad, as he had trouble balancing the items he had in his hands. "Help me?"

Noki smiled and took the vase from his hand. "I think we'll have time to spare..." Toad put the fishbowl on a table and placed the pink towel inside, in a way that would reproduce the folds of the brain.

"Yeah, it does seem likely," acquiesced the mushroom.

Noki set the vase on the pink towel. "What are we going to do?"

"I guess we'll wait. Say, do you mind getting something to put in the vase? I think you'd choose good items," smiled Toad, honestly.

"Okay, I'll be back soon," she confirmed. Noki went to the other room and was a little puzzled when she saw that some things had disappeared from the piles of items, notably the big computer screen. Nevertheless, she picked up a fake pink rose, a green rake, a yellow plastic phone, a red pipe as well as a blue syringe. After that, she went back to the room where Toad waited, and gave him the items.

"I guess that will work," he shrugged nonchalantly. "It won't convey the message we were originally going for, but it works too." They put the items in the vase in a random fashion. Satisfied with their work, they began to relax.

"That's the kind of thing my sister would have loved to do," sighed Noki. "It has been such a long time since I last saw her..."

Toad looked surprised. "You have a sister? I never knew that. I also miss my brother, now that you mention it."

"I guess it's natural to miss your family in a game like this," Noki daydreamed.

**Toad** : It's kind of hard to believe that we've been together for quite some time now but we're still complete strangers. We don't _know_ each other.

"Well, I think I'll go in the other room to find other items because our vase is kind of empty," Noki winked at Toad. "Do you want to come?"

"I'll pass," refused the mushroom politely.

"Okay, see you soon!"

The blue-shelled girl opened the door and started looking for something to use, when suddenly she met Bootler's gaze.

"Noki?" questioned the butler.

Noki put her hand on her mouth in surprise. "Oh my god, it's Bootler from the opposing team!" she exclaimed.

This caught Bootler's attention. "What do you mean, Noki?"

**Noki** : It was a very bold move, but desperate times call for desperate measures, don't they?

"Bootler, you need to stop working on your project."

* * *

_Finally, I present you the first part of episode 7 ! Sorry for the long wait and the fact that it is short, however, I really wanted to put a little cliffhanger at the end of the chapter._

_Will Bootler listen to Noki's pleas ? Only time will tell.  
_

_Also, sorry if this challenge resembles the one that Krisetchers used in his first season. I often put an art challenge in my Mole stories and it was the last time I could make one. ^^'_

_I hope you still enjoy the story ! ^^_

_Oh, and I have a new poll concerning the Mole's identity on my profile, feel free to leave a vote ! ^^ For the anonymous reviewers, you can just say it in your review, I'll tally it at the end of the episode. ^^_

_Well, until next time !_


	25. Ancient Tales

**Charz** : I like reading your suspicions, they are very detailed and you even quote the story to demonstrate your points, thank you very much! ^^ It's too bad one of the players will miss the final, because I really like the final four (well, three players more than the last one). About Birdo, she was supposed to leave earlier, actually, but when I saw that she was liked, I kept her in the game a little longer. ^^ And it wouldn't be fun if I just decided to make my favorite character win the game. Like how Champ thought Flurrie would win. XD

**Androids101** : XD Well, it's true that she was Mario's demise. She kind of took the exemption that he could have won, so I understand why you wouldn't like her in this story. ^^ Thank you for your review, and it's always good tu put two favorite characters. That way, if one of them is the Mole, you still have another person to root for. ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the four remaining players had to choose two people who would compete in an artistic task. While Noki, Bootler and Toad thought that it might have been a trap, Jojora declared that she would partake in that mission, no matter what. In the end, Jojora and Bootler were selected for the mission and were led by Monty Mole inside Koopa's Tycoon Town. Meanwhile, Toad and Noki discussed the possibility of the mission being a giant trap, which was later revealed by Monty Mole. The host explained to them that they had to beat Bootler and Jojora in an artistic contest. At first, the two teams were at a loss as to what to do and eventually settled for symbolism. Unbeknownst to the two teams, their opponents were only a room away from their position. It was only when Toad and Noki were nearly finished with their work that the latter decided to add more items to their creation and found herself in front of Bootler. Would Bootler listen to Noki's demands and give up on the challenge, or would he dismiss her words as pure treachery?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

25 : Ancient Tales

"Bootler, you need to stop working on your project."

That single line made Bootler wary of Noki. The small Noki had showed her smartness on numerous occasions and most of the time, the result was really bad for the team pot. Bootler remembered how Noki had acquired an exemption at the end of episode five.

**Bootler** : I have always been very wary of Noki, as she is one of my prime suspects. I have never ceased to look at her as the Mole, and I could very well be right. At the end of episode five, she managed to win an exemption and remove a hefty chunk of money from the pot. Her being offered an exemption would not have surprised me.

**Noki** : Bootler is a very mysterious person, you can hardly get him to talk to you. Overall, he's been the only player I never managed to get much information from. The fact that he sometimes speaks in riddles doesn't reassure me one bit either, especially when there's a chance that he is the Mole.

Bootler frowned, apparently thinking hard. Finally, he spoke up. "May I know why I should grant your request?"

Noki breathed deeply. "Because if you don't, we'll probably lose this challenge."

Bootler still was not convinced. "Would you be so kind as to elaborate?"

**Noki** : It was hard to find the right words to convince him. I had to make my explanation believable, and at the same time I knew that if I told him the entire thing, he wouldn't trust me.

"Well, you remember how we thought that there was some sort of reverse psychology in this challenge?" she asked. Bootler nodded, so she went on. "Apparently, we were right. We were told that the challenge would be won only if we were to best you and Jojora in an art competition."

Bootler was silent for a moment, wondering whether Noki had told him the entire truth while the blue-shelled girl simply waited, a hopeful expression on her face.

**Bootler** : In this game, you have to take risks. Throughout my journey, I had to make choices, each one having its advantages and disadvantages. That was merely one of these choices I made.

"Well, I would be prone to trust you, however, since you already tricked someone before on this show, I am afraid that I must refuse your offer. I strongly believe that you and Toad might have been offered something which could put myself and Jojora at a disadvantage," apologized Bootler.

Noki was speechless, she took another two items in silence and fled toward the room where she and Toad were working whereas Bootler shook his head and looked for other materials that he could use for his work.

**Noki** : I didn't know what to think, at the time. I wonder if Bootler even considered that I was telling the truth or not...

…

Toad waved to Noki. "Why did you take so long? I was afraid you were buried under the trash!" he joked.

Noki offered him a small smile and put a purple lance as well as a fake orange durian in the vase. "Now, I think we have enough random things in this composition!"

"Funny how all the colors of the rainbow are present in our vase. Was it your idea?" questioned Toad.

Noki nodded. "That, and it seems prettier that way. Not to mention that it looks less empty, if you know what I mean."

"I wonder what the others are doing," Toad thought aloud. "If we're lucky, they'll fail horribly."

"Hmm... I doubt it," finished Noki, glancing one last time at the door.

…

Much like Noki, Bootler did not say a thing about his encounter with the member of the other team. Instead, he simply did as if nothing had happened and gave Jojora what she needed. He had found three pieces of red plastic as well as light blue fabric.

"Give me a hand Bootler, I need you to hold the tire for me. Hold it tight," she ordered. Bootler complied and Jojora went to take a saw. "Okay, so I cut this part a little..."

Jojora sawed the wheel in a way that reduce the width of the circle. "Good. Now we need to put the tire inside the computer screen..." Jojora and Bootler pushed the tire gently and managed to make it stay in place.

"Do you need help with the arrows?" inquired Bootler.

Jojora shook her head. "Nah. But you can start to arrange everything if you want to."

**Jojora** : I knew that we had this challenge in the bag. I mean, the art critic would surely give us a good grade since our work was pretty aesthetic and original.

It took her a good fifteen minutes to cut the arrows cleanly and polish them. Bootler had managed to complete the bottom part of their master piece and was now putting blue paint on the white towel he had taken back to the room earlier.

"Mmmh... I hope the others won't screw up their challenge," wished Jojora. "I don't want to do all of this for nothing."

Bootler nodded uneasily. "They might be playing a very different game."

"How different could it be?" she questioned, finally standing up from her chair and moving toward their creation. "It's a big city, maybe they're running errands for people. I could totally see them screwing up this kind of mission."

"Time will tell," supposed Bootler.

…

"It's so boring... How long do we have to wait?" asked Toad.

Noki looked at her watch. "We still have forty minutes in hand."

"Should we add something to our creation?"

"Let's just wait for Monty Mole or the art critic. There's no need to add anything else."

"Okay, whatever you say," replied Toad. "I hope the critic will prefer our thing. I mean, it's creative, but not really technical."

Noki smiled. "We still did alright, in my opinion."

**Toad** : Just waiting for Monty Mole to arrive was annoying. Since we had finished our work, there wasn't much we could do.

"It's a shame that Birdo left the game," said Toad, suddenly changing the topic of discussion. "She was definitely fun to have around."

"It was bound to happen eventually," sighed Noki. "We didn't vote for the same suspect."

"You didn't? But I thought you were in a coalition?"

"Well, I couldn't force her to vote like me. Besides, I thought she would be fine with her plus one."

"Same here, I totally didn't see it coming."

**Noki** : I didn't want to tell Toad the entire truth behind Birdo's execution. Who knows, he could use that against me in the future.

**Toad** : Noki changed her strategy since Birdo's departure. She's still kind and pleasant but she doesn't say much anymore. She was more talkative when Birdo was around. I'm trying to get her to tell me how Birdo was eliminated, but it's easier said than done.

…

"Yes, that's how you do it!" Jojora grinned smugly as she put the arrows in place. "That definitely looks like a cycle. And it's rather good."

"We did a good job, if I do say so myself," noted Bootler. "Even though the materials were definitely not what I would use for a masterpiece."

"So Bootler, how do you do in this game? Do you feel like you're secure? Are you worried about what's to come?" Jojora fired away her questions.

**Jojora** : It's good to know about your opponent's state of mind regarding the game, if they are stressed, you can be sure that they will slip up or get eliminated. Putting a lot of weight on their shoulders is basically what I've been doing this entire game and my strategy came to fruition, didn't it?

Bootler chuckled lightly. "Oh, I am quite confident. I only have to face one more obstacle before reaching the final episode, and since I know who the Mole is, it will have little to no effect on me. I am convinced that I shall not fail. How about you?"

"Same here. I have to say that this Mole tricked me for a good portion of the game, but ever since I've been able to understand the clue, I managed to piece everything together and I believe my prediction of who the Mole is will come true," she answered.

**Bootler** : Truth to be told, my mind tells me that there is another possibility for the Mole. However, I do not want Jojora to know about my incertitude.

**Jojora** : Bootler seemed unfazed which isn't really good for me. I thought I could play with his mind a little, but that won't work.

"How many clues did you catch?"

"Sorry, but I will not tell you. It is confidential."

Jojora shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

…

The next minutes were uneventful for both teams as the players waited until their time was up, conversing about many subjects. Finally, when their set time was over, Monty Mole asked the two teams to come out of their room. Jojora was very surprised to see the members of the opposing team, as she had no idea they were in the same building as she and Bootler.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned. Bootler was not really confused, which perplexed Toad.

"Wait a second, players. Do not talk to each other or else, I will deduct ten thousand coins from the team pot and this challenge will be lost," the host warned them. "Currently, your two pieces of art are being judged by the famous art critic known as Mason Coles Hallyboo. They have been moved for the occasion. It shouldn't be long now."

As if on cue, McHallyboo showed himself. Wearing his trademark blue top hat, he was unmistakable. "Hello, everyone!" he greeted them. "Monty, I'm finished, here are the results." McHallyboo gave Monty Mole an envelope which contained the names of the winners. "Hope you'll have a great game!"

"Thanks!" smiled the host. "He's a great friend of mine," he told the players. "Noki and Toad, please follow me!"

**Toad** : We really didn't know what was happening at the time, it was only later that we discovered that there were two parts to our challenge.

The players obliged and were led to a room with fancy decorations, red carpets with golden ornaments and even luxurious chandeliers. The first thing they saw was their own creation, standing in the middle of six other masterpieces.

"This is the second part of your challenge," explained Monty Mole. "One of this seven creations is yours, while another is Jojora's and Bootler's. Now, your objective is pretty easy. You need to pick the one that you think was made by your two friends. You only have one chance and five minutes to complete this challenge. The five minutes starting...now."

"Obviously, Jojora made the best one," declared Noki. "So eliminate the ones which don't seem that hard to do."

"Got it!"

The first one was a portrait made of various fruits. Noki and Toad could perceive the shape of a head as well as the nose and the mouth of the model. They unanimously decided that that one was not from Jojora and Bootler.

"I don't see clearly the eyes of the portrait, so I doubt it's theirs," commented Toad, moving to the second masterpiece.

The second one was actually the creation of Jojora and Bootler. The two players thought it was pretty and managed to understand that it symbolized some sort of cycle, although they could not determine what type of cycle it was.

"Symbol of eternal renewal, I suppose. It could be theirs," pointed out Noki.

The third one was the one they had created, so they moved onto the fourth creation. This one was very simple. A heart was dangling dangerously from the ceiling, only linked by a single string. Five other strings were cut.

"Life hangs on a thread? I doubt it's the one they created," stated Noki.

"Let's not forget that it's too simple. Jojora would have wanted to create something matching her ego," laughed Toad.

The fifth one was actually a Dolphin made of water bottles. Noki and Toad immediately thought it would have been impossible to make in such a short amount of time.

"Far too sophisticated," Noki shook her head.

The sixth one confused them. It was made of pieces of cloth, tied to each other, which in the end took the shape of a snowman. Noki remembered that Bootler had a piece of fabric with him when she saw him, so she thought it could possibly be theirs.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it were theirs. It's pretty."

"And I think it represents a snowman. Jojora lives in a snowy region, if I remember correctly," backed Toad.

The seventh one was yet another portrait, only this time, the nose was formed by a seven, the mouth by a horseshoe, the eyes and eyebrows by two mistletoes, the nose with a four-leaf clover and the rest of the head by many other lucky charms.

"Hmm, no. Just no, it can't be theirs," claimed Toad.

"One minute remaining!" called Monty Mole.

"The one they made is either the sixth or the second."

"I would say the second one," Toad suggested. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, though."

"Ah..." trailed off Noki. "To be honest, I want to choose the snowman." She paused for a moment and compared the two works. "Okay, let's choose the cycle inside the computer and hope you're right, Toad."

Monty Mole nodded. "Is it your final answer?" Toad and Noki both nodded. "Very well then. Please wait outside."

**Noki** : I was confused. What about our results?

As soon as Noki and Toad disappeared from sight, Jojora and Bootler entered the room.

"Hey, what are we doing here?" she asked bluntly.

"Well, before you are seven masterpieces. Toad and Noki made one of them, you have five minutes to tell me which one you think is theirs," summed up Monty Mole.

"First one, fruits. Eliminated," came the voice of Jojora.

"Why do you think it is not theirs?"

"Easy. See the piece of apple here? It hasn't rotten yet, which means that someone must have vaporized some kind of spray on it so that it would be conserved," justified Jojora.

"How about that one?" Bootler questioned, moving his hand toward the creation of Toad and Noki.

"It's actually easy to do, but I see some sort of symbol here. And I honestly doubt that they could do that alone. In my opinion, the least sophisticated one is theirs," exposed Jojora.

They moved onto the heart dangling from the ceiling. "I'm one hundred percent sure it's the one," smirked Jojora.

"Perhaps," wagered Bootler. "You _are_ the expert."

"Why, thank you," smiled the blue fairy. "The dolphin can't be theirs either."

"I concur. And I doubt the snowman is the one they made."

Jojora nodded. "Yeah, even I don't know how to do that. And the last one isn't theirs either. Because there's a rabbit foot and they probably wouldn't feel comfortable around it," she explicated smartly.

"We believe that the heart over there is the work of Noki and Toad," declared Bootler loudly.

"Great!" smiled Monty Mole. "Noki, Toad, you can come back!" he shouted.

The two mentioned players opened the door and took their place near their friends and opponents.

"I think I ought to explain everything, as you all seem a little...confused."

"Yeah, you're correct, to say the least," snapped Jojora.

"Bootler and Jojora were chosen as the two artistic players," began the host, "I told them that their job was to create a masterpiece which would later be rated by an art critic. If they were awarded with a ten or more, they would win twenty thousand coins. However, that wasn't the truth."

"What do you mean?" asked Bootler, fearing what was coming next. Noki gave him a hard glare.

"What I mean is that I lied to you on purpose. Being elected as the two people who were feeling artsy, Jojora and Bootler would actually be the single obstacle of this challenge. No art critic rated your creation. They instead compared your two creations, and the money would only be awarded if they believed the masterpiece created by Toad and Noki was superior to that of Jojora and Bootler. And I have the results with me!" he exclaimed as he raised his arm, an envelope between his fingers.

"So, who won?"

Monty Mole took a deep breath and opened the envelope. He read its contents. "The winners are...Jojora and Bootler. I am sorry, but twenty thousand coins won't go into your team pot."

"Darn!" yelled an aggravated Jojora.

"I _so_ totally didn't see it coming," Toad rolled his eyes.

"Shut up."

"Touchy, aren't we?"

Monty cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the players. "We still don't know whether you completely lost this challenge or not. A few moments ago, you were asked by yours truly this question : 'which masterpiece do you think the other team created?'. I'll ask you to move toward your own creation."

The players did so and Monty Mole soon talked again.

"Well, Noki and Toad thought that the cycle of life was from Jojora and Bootler, so they win ten thousand coins. However, Bootler and Jojora decided that the heart was from Noki and Toad. It wasn't the case, unfortunately. This means that you only won ten thousand coins out of forty thousand."

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 40 000 – 30 000 = 10 000

Team Pot : 163 000 coins

Before the players could blame each other, Monty Mole made another announcement.

"There was an easy way for you to win this challenge."

Now, the players were interested.

"To win the first part, you only had to convince Jojora and Bootler to make something crappy. To win the second part, you only had to show each other your creations. Sure, you couldn't pass through the door of your opponents' room, but you could still glance at their masterpiece from the common room."

The players did not have the time to react, as Monty Mole immediately followed on.

"Speaking about that, our cameras caught sight of Noki and Bootler talking to each other during the challenge and-"

"What? You never told me about that?" Toad interrupted, surprised. Jojora had the same reaction.

"Yeah, what the heck was that for, Bootler? We were teammates, why didn't you tell me that you saw Noki?"

"Noki tried to convince Bootler to stop the challenge, but she apparently didn't try enough. Or maybe Bootler had other reasons not to trust her..."

"Her wording was very suspicious, which is why I thought she was trying to deceive me," Bootler tried to explain.

Noki did not seem to like his statement. "You did not really give me a chance to tell you the entire truth," she accused.

"I suspected that you had been offered an exemption."

"How about Jojora? She was the one who actually made the team lose thirty thousand coins today, with her wrong choice and the fact that she created a better masterpiece than Toad and Noki," Monty Mole smiled, amused.

"Oh come on, I didn't know that! Bootler never told me anything!" yelled the fairy.

"And why did Toad suddenly decide to make a symbolic masterpiece instead of an abstract one, like he first suggested? Maybe he was afraid that his work would be easily discovered by Jojora in the second part of the challenge?"

"No! We were trying to _beat_ her!"

"And apparently, you didn't try hard enough, in view of the fact that they beat the two of you by a landslide... Anyway, many things happened, I'll let you think about it. For now, let's return to our hotel," ordered the host.

**Bootler** : I know that the loss of the challenge is partially my fault, however, Noki did not try to convince me that I should give up on my project. It is quite the opposite, she kept saying things which made me wary of her and I quote 'Oh no, it is Bootler from the opposite team.'. What was I supposed to think? Furthermore, once I told her that I did not believe her, she simply gave up. She did not even try to make me change my mind! And while I believed the creation which resembled a human head was the correct one, Jojora insisted and decided that the heart was theirs. My head is hurting from thinking so much.

**Toad** : If I had to blame someone for this epic fail, epic as in really really really really horribly lame, I would, without a doubt, choose Jojora. Everyone was thinking that this challenge was a trap, but _she_ didn't, so in the end, we had to do what _she_ wanted and it cost _us_ the money. She's such a good team player, after all, who can blame her? And I also think that Noki was fishy. Why didn't she tell me that she saw Bootler? Why didn't she ask me to convince him that this mission was a trap? I mean, why didn't she? She had no reason to keep that away from me.

**Jojora** : Toad seems to be blaming me for the sabotages which happened during the challenge, but he isn't really clear of all suspicions. How did he know that this challenge involved reverse psychology? And if he knew, why didn't he oppose more resistance instead of just going along with my proposal? Besides, he said that he wasn't much of an artist, but the creation that he and Noki made was imaginative. And Bootler honestly didn't do much during the challenge. He sat here, doing nothing, and when he could have helped by telling me that he had met Noki, he chose not to. Everyone's a suspect.

**Noki** : Bootler paid no heed to my warning, which is very strange coming from a focused and dedicated player like him. I warned him, I told him to stop working on his project and even told him what the true objective of the mission was, but in the end he decided to ignore me and go on with his part of the challenge. And then he blames _me_? I did what I could, and that's about it. There was no point in arguing with him since he thought that I had lied. But in my mind, he didn't give a good excuse. I mean, two exemptions on the penultimate episode? That's not going to happen anytime soon. And Toad kept on changing his mind. At the beginning of the game, he wanted to make something abstract, and after that he decided on symbolism. He said that we had enough things in the vase, and a few minutes after that he wondered whether we had enough items in it or not. I miss Birdo, it was easier when she was here.

…

Disappointed in their own performance, the players returned to their hotel, thinking about the various sabotages that had occurred in their challenge. One of them was not feeling guilty at all, for they were the Mole and deliberately decided to make the team lose.

"Well, we still have many more occasions to add money to the team pot," realized Bootler. "We should not brood about our recent loss."

"I just want to take a nap," Toad piped up.

"Yes, this challenge was very tiring," Noki added in agreement.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Because you definitely did your best."

"Well, you surpassed yourself, Mole," retorted Noki.

"As if."

Bootler and Toad looked at each other and sighed. They were suddenly startled by a loud shout, coming from none other than their host. "Hey! Players! Over here!"

"Oh god, don't tell me we have yet another challenge?"

"Unfortunately, you do!" the host grinned evilly. He then dropped the evil act. "Please have a seat," he demanded softly, pointing at the chairs disposed around the table he was sitting at.

Noki was the first to sit down. "Hopefully, there isn't any twist. Is there?"

Monty Mole chuckled heartily and then answered her question. "Well, that's for me to know and you to find out."

"I hate when you're being so mysterious," Toad could not help saying, making the others laugh.

"Just listen to what the challenge is about. This game is called 'Distant Memories', it involves...journals!"

"Ah! So that was what your hint was about!" exclaimed Bootler. The others looked at him, confused. "Well, this morning, Monty Mole specified that it was good that we still remembered what had happened previously in the game."

"Oh, I understand now."

Jojora shrugged. "I didn't think it was that important. Please go on Monty."

"Very well. I will read in front of you six excerpts coming from six different journals and your job will be to identify who wrote which journal entry. Did I make myself clear?"

"That sounds awfully like one of the three mini-challenges we had the possibility to do during the previous episode," noted Noki.

"I won't say that it doesn't, but the singular number here is six. What can you infer from that?"

"The six eliminated players," Jojora responded immediately.

"Correct!" clapped Monty Mole. "This mission will test both your memory and your social game. Did you pay attention to the other players? Or did you simply use and throw them once you didn't need their help anymore? Remember that you'll be asked questions pertaining to the very first episode on the final quiz..."

"Do we have a timer or something?" questioned Toad.

"No. You need to identify correctly four of the six excerpts. Are you ready?" Everyone nodded.

**Bootler** : I did slightly suspect that the producers would choose embarrassing journal entries.

"Here we go!"

Oh my god, what a marvelous location! Oh dear, I think I'm going to faint, this game seems so awesome! I'm glad I was accepted in it, since there are so little spots. Anyway, today, we played our very first challenge, and I must say it didn't quite go as planned because-

"Because what?" asked Jojora bluntly.

"Well, that was what was written on the page we decided to rip."

"We can easily deduce that the person who wrote it was here during episode one, but that does not help much," stated Bootler.

"I think it's Kooper's," declared Noki. "I mean, he was particularly excited about the game."

"I really don't think it's his," objected Toad. "He was excited, sure, but he was also my roommate and I can assure you that it's not his style."

Jojora disagreed with Toad. "The first executed player was Kooper and this journal entry deals with the first episode. Assuming that they took a journal entry per episode, Kooper's can only be this one."

Bootler frowned. "But then, would that not mean that the journal entry dealing with episode two is Donkey's? And that the one which is about episode three is that of Flurrie, and so on? Do you really think the producers would have done something so predictable?"

"That's a possibility and besides, my point still stands. Kooper was eliminated before episode two, so his journal can only be about episode one."

"I'm still against that choice," reminded Toad. "To me, it seems like the type of thing a girl would write. Especially if the girl in question is Flurrie."

"Let's vote," suggested Noki. "Raise your hand if you think it can be Kooper's." Jojora, Noki and Bootler raised their hand. "We say that this journal entry was written by Kooper," Noki told the host.

Monty Mole shook his head. "Incorrect."

"See? I told you!" Toad raged.

Oh man, this challenge sucked! We didn't even manage to make it to the second part, and apparently, the others totally failed! I've heard that Pauline found out where the treasure chest was located, but she was too late since the other five had already lost the challenge. I'm not really confident that I'll pass the test but I'll try anyway.

"Well, at least we know it's not Pauline's."

"It's either Birdo or Donkey," realized Toad. "Because they failed along with you two," he addressed Jojora and Noki.

"I really think Birdo wrote that. She was frustrated because of the banana peels."

"But Donkey could have written this journal entry. Though, I don't think he asked anyone why the challenge was lost. So we say Birdo wrote this journal entry," Jojora claimed.

Monty Mole shook his head, once again. "It wasn't Birdo's."

Today, we sneaked into Jojora's room and we found out what the clue she had gotten on episode three was! Hahaha, serves her right! She really was stupid to leave her journal in her room, though, we found it really easily. Now, the clue is mine and although it confuses me a little, I'll use it to my advantage.

"What the heck?" yelled Jojora, attracting the eyes of many bystanders.

Toad and Bootler looked at each other in panic while Noki simply thought about who could have written such a strange journal entry. "Well, we know it's not Donkey or Kooper."

"It's not Flurrie either," Toad added. "Otherwise, the tenses wouldn't be the same."

"Okay, who the hell crept in my room? I demand answers!" shouted the aggravated Jojora.

"It would seem that it is Birdo, Mario or Pauline. But apparently, more than one person trespassed on your room..." Bootler trailed off.

"It's not Mario! I showed him the clue, he had no reason to do that! I bet it was you and Birdo! That's probably what the 'we' stands for!"

"No! I never went inside your room, nor did Birdo! Did you forget that she wanted to trade her journal because she had no clue?" Noki defended herself. Jojora was not backing off.

Suddenly, Toad had an idea. "Well, there's another possibility."

**Toad** : I knew that this journal entry had been written by Pauline, but if I were to blurt that, Jojora would have immediately known that I had sneaked in her room, and I didn't want her to know that. Also, Noki wasn't responsible, so there was no way I was letting Jojora accuse her. That left the last possibility, putting the blame on Pauline and someone else. Someone who wasn't here anymore.

"What is it?" asked Jojora harshly.

Toad hid a grin. "Pauline and Grace did it. That would explain the numerous 'we' and the 'the clue is mine', at the end. I mean, Grace never needed the clue," smiled the mushroom. "We choose Pauline."

Monty Mole looked solemnly and finally announced the result of their decision. "You are...incorrect."

The players' faces immediately showed their disappointment.

"Just kidding!"

**Jojora** : What a moron!

* * *

_Now now Jojora, Monty isn't a moron. He's just facetious... He's a mole after all, he likes to deceive people._

_This mini-challenge wasn't that original, but I remembered that I forgot to include a challenge related to the previously eliminated players, so... In season 2, there was a challenge opposing the first sixth eliminated players to the six remaining ones (somewhat reminiscent of what Heather had to do in the second season of The Mole US ; retrieving some things without getting caught by the other players), and I totally forgot to do one here. ^^'_

_Anyway, next chapter we'll see whether the players win this challenge or not and they will compete in the last challenge of episode 7! ^^_

_And there's still an exemption lurking somewhere, where could it be?_

_I also apologize in advance, but the final episode won't be very original._

_Hopefully, you liked this chapter! Please leave a review and vote on the poll (4 votes so far), I'll appreciate it (and give criticism if you think something isn't right with the story). _

_See you next time!_

_Oh yeah, and fastest update ever._


	26. Scavenger Hunt

**Androids101/PrincessRosalinaFanboy (1)** : Yeah, they all failed miserably at the challenge, but maybe one of them is indeed more to blame? I like your reasoning and it seems that you don't know for sure who's the Mole. You still have time to choose one of them before the final, lol! By the way, I think I'll refer to you as your new pseudonym.

**Charz** : Lol! Yeah, Jojora is also one of my favorite characters. And she's just the best in M&L:SS. Well, except for Peach, that is. So it seems that you moved your suspicions toward Noki, but apparently everyone but Jojora is high on your list. And lol at your ending statement. :p I also like your reasoning as well as the way you make your Mole list.

**PrincessRosalinaFanboy (2)** : So you changed your mind and picked someone as the Mole? That's good, it's fun to have a suspect (even if mine tend not to be the Mole)! ^^ And it's also smart to take another look at what everyone has done so far, it can give ideas as to who the Mole is. ^^ To answer your postscripts : Yeah, I've always thought that she would be a good air hostess. Thanks for the avatar, I made Jojora myself. I wanted to make a group picture, but seeing as I don't know how to make Donkey, I scraped the idea. DX And don't worry, I don't mind people reviewing many times the same chapters, unless it's someone who RPs as the characters... If you see what I mean, lol.

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, Bootler refused to listen to Noki when she asked him to stop doing his masterpiece. The two groups finished their work and then, an art critic going by the name of Mason Coles Hallyboo compared the two creations and decided that the one of Jojora and Bootler was the best. But the players were not finished yet with their challenge. Indeed, the second part of their mission was to pick, out of seven creations, the one the other group did. Noki and Toad successfully discovered that the cycle of life was Jojora's and Bootler's creation, but those two thought the heart-shaped creation was simple enough to be that of Toad and Noki, and lost ten thousand coins. Blaming each other for their unsuccessful game, the four remaining players headed back to their hotel where Monty Mole was waiting for them. Another challenge was in sight. The players had to identify which executed player was the author of the journal entries Monty Mole read aloud. They had already made two mistakes, and they needed three more correct answers to win the money, would they be able to do it?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

26 : Scavenger Hunt

Jojora, Noki, Bootler and Toad were all sitting at a table, trying to determine whom had written the different excerpts Monty Mole was reading aloud. So far, they had only gotten one correct, the one written by Pauline.

"Let's remember that Donkey and Pauline can't have written the next few journal entries," reminded them Toad.

"Yes," nodded Bootler. "We should be extremely careful. Do not forget that if we give a wrong answer, we are done."

"Yeah, whatever," Jojora snapped, still unnerved after she had discovered that someone had sneaked in her room. "Just ask us already, Monty!" she yelled.

**Jojora** : I swear, Pauline is the worst dumbass I've ever known. Who the hell invades your privacy on a TV show? God, she's stupid alright. She should be thankful the Mole eliminated her, otherwise she would have faced my wrath.

"Okay, next one!"

Day one! Awesome! I'm so excited to finally play instead of just watching the players compete in the various challenges! Here's to hoping that I won't be the first one out, I really want to play as much as I can and hopefully win the money! Still, if I were to win, I'd still be part of the team. I mean, the game's so great I wouldn't be able to quit it. The game has only begun and I'm already suspecting Flurrie. Her going for journal nine out of the blue raised- 

"Obviously Kooper," Toad stated immediately.

Jojora raised an eyebrow. "And you're so sure why...?"

"Actually, I can answer that one," smiled Noki. "Right after the first challenge, while you and Donkey Kong decided to go out because you were upset, Toad, Birdo, Kooper and I stayed together and we discussed the first challenge. And Kooper revealed to us that he thought she was the Mole," she finished, taking a deep breath.

"Very well then, if the two of you are so sure, we should answer Kooper. Monty Mole, we think that Kooper wrote this journal entry," enunciated Bootler.

The host looked at his sheet in a dramatic way. "That's correct!"

"Yes, I knew it!" laughed Noki. "Two more to go!"

"Technically, we only have to guess correctly which person wrote this one, to win the challenge," objected Bootler. "It should be crystal clear."

**Bootler** : It seems that I have underestimated my coalition partner. He is obviously way smarter than he looks and it seems like his social game was perfect, while mine could definitely cost me the game. I have not socialized much throughout our journey, for the sole fact that I did not want to be involved in the many fights that have broken out.

"Yeah, yeah, excellent yoohoo!" Jojora snorted, irritated. "Can we get on with the game?" Toad imitated her and Noki laughed at his impression.

"Focus, people!" ordered Bootler gently. "Do not forget that we have not won yet."

"I have another one for you," told them Monty Mole.

I can't believe Toad and Jojora would threaten us to lose challenges just so their names would figure on the wheel! I almost wanted to throw the challenge just to make them regret what they did, hopefully, I didn't. I wonder what's going to happen now...

"It must must be about the exemption roulette but I wonder who could have written this excerpt," pondered Noki, unsure about what their answer should be.

"How about Mario?" considered Toad. "As far as I remember, he was pretty reluctant to give someone an exemption."

"Yes," agreed Bootler. "He was also the only one who did not want to play this challenge. I would also say Mario."

"Well, it's between him and Birdo, anyway," noted Noki. "They are the only possibilities."

"How convenient," Jojora rolled her eyes. "The two people for whom we don't have any clue..."

"Let's just go with Mario," suggested Toad. "We all seem to think that he's more likely to have written that than Birdo, so we might as well valid this answer."

"Is Mario your answer?" questioned Monty Mole.

"Ye-" Noki was interrupted by Jojora.

"No, it's not Mario, it must be Birdo's!" she exclaimed. Bootler was skeptical.

"How can you be so sure? There is no clue leading to Birdo," he remarked smartly. Jojora waved her finger in front of them.

"That's your opinion. To me, there's a rather big clue in this journal entry," she retorted. "Mario and I began our coalition during episode four. So now, explain to me why he would want to sabotage the challenge so that his ally wouldn't get an exemption?"

"The wording is tricky," mused Toad. Jojora shook her head.

"Not really. Besides, Mario was pissed off when Birdo got the exemption, because he thought that she didn't deserve it at all. And I must say that I agreed fully with him at the time."

Noki defended her fallen friend. "How can you say that? Birdo is really a sweet person!"

"So what? We're in a game! This isn't the Amazing Friend but the Mole and Birdo didn't deserve to win the exemption because she made us lose tons of money and she wasn't even the traitor! So yes, she might be cool and everything, and I'm pretty sure Mario's good friend with her outside of the show, but the fact remains that she was a pretty useless player here," ranted Jojora.

Noki frowned. "You are entitled to your own beliefs. I know for a fact that Birdo tried her best."

**Toad **: Well, Bootler and I didn't intervene because both of them made a good point. But still, it's kind of annoying that Jojora's always diverting us from the challenges. I wish she would stop because frankly, she isn't innocent herself.

"The point is that Birdo wrote this journal entry," Jojora decided.

"Well, to spice things up, I won't tell you whether you were right or wrong," the host announced slyly. "Last one!"

This mission was tricky, I'm glad we managed to make it all the way to the end of King Boo's Mansion. I feel very proud of myself because I'm the reason why we won the challenge. I suppose I could thank Lady Luck for that but... Anyways, this episode was very short, I'm disappointed to see that we only competed in one big challenge, as fun as it was, but I presume Monty Mole has to respect some kind of schedule which would explain that-

"Mario," claimed the four players at the same time.

"Birdo made it to the end," recalled Toad, "but as far as I remember, Mario was truly the hero during this game. He led us through the various rooms and managed to decipher the secret code."

"I suppose you were correct," presumed Bootler, scratching his chin. "So, Monty Mole, did we win?"

Monty Mole put on his most dramatic face, which worried greatly everyone. "I'd say that...you did a pretty good job," he flashed them a smile. "I forgot to say it earlier, but the challenge was worth fifteen thousand coins! Congratulations!"

Challenge's Results :

_Money Won : 15 000_

_Team Pot : 178 000 coins_

The players clapped happily out of politeness and cheered lightly. One of them being hypocritical.

"And to think that this money could be ours," daydreamed Toad, thinking of the possibilities which would be offered to him if he were the victor of this game.

Bootler chuckled. "It will be someone's, I know that much."

**Noki** : It sure sounds like a dream right now, to believe that the money could be mine. It seems so unreal... I suppose I never really thought of what I would do if I were to win the whole game.

"Well, it seems like you made up for your earlier loss today, so far for this episode, you won twenty five thousand coins out of fifty five thousand. You almost managed to win half of the money at stake! Not to mention that we still have one more challenge for you guys, but it won't begin right now, so feel free to relax in the meantime," Monty Mole announced, sounding pleased.

"I'm just glad we finally added more money into the pot," pointed out Jojora. "So far, we haven't been very efficient and since the end is near in sight I think we should aim to add as much money as we can into the pot." She paused, looking at the other three. "After all, one of us will go back home with that money so we might as well try to earn a big check."

"Wow, you're actually being a team player for once!" let out Toad. "Shocker!"

"Shut up," retorted Jojora scowling.

Everyone began to laugh, heading back inside the hotel. The next day, they would have to be in shape if they wanted to win the last challenge of episode seven, as well as pass successfully the last obstacle before reaching the final. Everyone was anxious as to what was to come. Everyone but the Mole, that is. Their only worry was to sabotage subtly and put as much doubt as they could in the others' mind.

…

The next morning, the players were left alone as Monty Mole told them he had some business to attend to. That left the players puzzled, although a majority of them simply supposed that he had to check some details for their upcoming mission. The players took advantage of that time to write in their journal and relax in the numerous facilities left at their disposal.

Bootler and Toad were resting in a hot spring, discussing the game.

"Aaah... This warm spring is very pleasant," Bootler could not help saying.

Toad nodded energetically. "Oh yeah! I feel totally revitalized!" Then they were silent for a moment, before Toad broke the ice. "Say Bootler..."

The old Boo turned to face Toad, raising an eyebrow in the process. "What is it?" he questioned, sensing that Toad was a bit uncomfortable.

"Well, you know how we're in a coalition and everything, right? I was wondering... What's going to happen to the two of us once we reach the final?" asked the mushroom.

Bootler laughed slightly, his mustache twitching. "Well, first of all, I think we would need to reach the final episode, and we should not count our chickens before they hatch. Who knows, one of us could be eliminated tonight."

Toad shrugged. "Nah, I think we're pretty much settled for the final episode," he refuted, winking.

Bootler grinned. "Well, I will not turn on you, you have my word. However, it is unfathomable for me to think that we will be working together. If anything, we will be working against each other."

"I see... Well, I won't turn on you either, it wouldn't be nice after everything we've been through. It's just too bad that only one person can be the winner..."

Bootler sighed. "Unfortunately, such is the nature of this game."

…

Jojora and Noki were located in the library of their hotel. The two girls who had almost nothing in common decided to utter a few words together, instead of just ignoring each other's presence.

"You know Jojora, I was wondering if you regretted things from time to time. Things that you've done throughout the game," she added, when she saw that the fairy was looking at her quizzically.

"That goes without saying," answered Jojora, writing down something in her journal. "But all in all, I think I've made the right choices at the right times and that's what matters right now."

"And... If you were to play again, would you change something?"

"Like what?" inquired Jojora.

"Like your strategy or something."

"Of course I would. What kind of dumb question is this?" Jojora jotted down a few more things in her journal. "Besides, who would want to play the same game over and over again? I sure wouldn't."

"Personally, I think I've played a good game."

"That's great," Jojora replied, completely uninterested.

Noki rolled her eyes. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Jojora only grinned.

…

After lunchtime was over, the players were waiting outside of the hotel, eager to start their next challenge. They had been told by Monty Mole that it would begin as soon as they were finished with their meal and true to his words, Monty Mole did show up, albeit in a rather strange manner.

"Oof!" Monty Mole yelled, tripping over the sidewalk. While Bootler, the oldest player of the game, was very concerned about Monty's safety, the others held back their laughter.

"Do you need help?" questioned Bootler. Monty Mole stood up and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry about me, Bootler, although it was kind of you to ask. Unlike some people here," he glared at the other three playfully. "Anyway, we'll soon start the last challenge of this episode, but before that, I need you to write down a list and put it in the urn over there," he explained, his hand motioning toward an ancient vase standing on the edge of a wall.

"A list of what?" inquired Jojora. The others were wondering the same thing.

Monty Mole cleared his throat. "A list of the other players' names, the one at the top being the name of the player you'd like to see progress further into the game, and the one at the bottom being the name of the player you'd like to see eliminated before the final episode," he developed.

**Jojora** : Every time Monty asks you something like that, you have to determine in what way it could influence the game. Like, will the player at the bottom get a minus one? Or will they have an important place in the challenge? Will the player at the top obtain a free pass to the final? You never truly know what's going on in this game, unless you're the Mole.

Jojora made her choice rather quickly and went to the urn. She displayed a look of confidence on her face.

**Toad** : Prior to this game, people were always telling me that I should think more before making a decision. After it's over, I bet they'll tell me that I'm overthinking everything.

Shortly after Jojora had made her choice, Toad ran to the vase and put his paper in it, smiling to himself in the process.

**Noki** : You can't help but wonder how the list will be used against you, since most of the time it's what happens. I was hoping the lists wouldn't be revealed afterward. I didn't want us to fight over petty things like this.

Noki took a long time to make her list. She read it one last time and decided it was for the best. The next thing she did was placing it inside the urn.

**Bootler** : I was very conflicted when it came to choosing the top and bottom persons. Depending on the way the list affected the game, the two names would be switched. Alas, I did not know what was the way chosen by the producers and had to rely on my instincts.

Finally, Bootler reached a conclusion. He wrote the three names like he was told to and let his paper fall inside the vase.

"Well, since you all finished, I'm going to study your lists, please stay here in the meantime," ordered Monty Mole as he waddled his way toward the urn.

Jojora watched him walk away and frowned when he picked up the vase. "I hope we didn't just decide of who would get the final exemption of the game."

Noki smiled sweetly. "I honestly think it isn't the case. I think we've determined our roles for the next mission."

"Was there an instance, in the previous seasons, where the players had to do something of the sort?" questioned Bootler, looking at Toad and Jojora. The two concerned players glanced at each other.

"In the first season," Toad replied. "But it wasn't exactly the same thing."

"Yeah, they had to say who they trusted the most. The most and least trusted players would then have an important part in the challenge, but I don't think we'll be playing the same game. That would be pointless," Jojora noted.

"Players! Come here!" shouted Monty Mole, waving at them in the distance. The players walked or floated toward their host, ready to hear the results of their votes.

"What happens now?" asked Noki.

"Well, I won't read your votes aloud so you can rest assured," Monty Mole reassured them. "No, what I'm interested in is the name of the player who you would like to see with you in the final episode of this game."

"What about the one the players don't want to see progress further into the game?" questioned Toad.

"Don't worry about this person, as I said, I'm only interested in the one who should make it to the final episode. And Toad is that person," finished Monty Mole, looking at the mushroom. "Toad, you will be brought to a secret location and will be blindfolded. You must keep the blindfold on for the duration of the ride. Please enter this car." The host pointed toward a conspicuous deep blue car.

**Toad** : I was glad to be chosen by the other players, but at the same time, I can't help but wonder why they chose me. Personally, I thought Bootler would be elected. I put him at the top of my list, after all. Obviously, Jojora was at the bottom of everyone's list.

Toad nodded and followed the host's order. He glanced one last time at his fellow contestants, smiling, and entered the car. The others could see in the distance that he was blindfolded by another person. The conductor started the engine and the vehicle began to move away. They gazed at it until it was nothing but a little dot in the horizon.

"Is this the hostage mission?" Jojora mused. Monty Mole replied by shaking his head.

"Not quite, actually, it's the exact opposite of the hostage mission." Jojora raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Bootler and Noki looked at each other, befuddled.

"So, um... What are we supposed to do?" Noki could not help but wonder.

"Why, we're going to start your next challenge!" exclaimed Monty Mole, a smile gracing his features. "Follow me!"

Just then, Bootler asked the dreaded question. "What about the costumes?"

Monty Mole looked at them, grinning slyly. "I don't want to spoil the surprise." Jojora groaned, Bootler gulped and Noki sighed.

…

Meanwhile, Toad was still in the car, wondering where the producers were bringing him. He came to realize that his destination was near, as the car slowed down and the ride became less bumpy. The driver pulled the handbrake, stopping the car altogether.

"Hey, you can remove your blindfold now. And please step out."

Toad complied. At first, he thought he would be blinded by light, however he was surprised to see that he was in a very dark area. "Where am I?" he questioned, knowing full well that he would never receive an answer.

"Sorry, can't tell you," said the driver. He fished something out of his pocket. "Here, Monty Mole told me to give you this." He handed Toad an envelope as well as a flashlight. "Don't open the letter until after you hear a signal. Also, I would suggest staying on that bench in the meantime."

"Hum, okay, I guess I could do that," Toad responded, taking the items from the hands of the producer.

"Well, that's all I can tell you. Good luck."

"Okay, thanks, I suppose," Toad thanked him, feeling awkward. The producer nodded and returned to his car. He then drove off, leaving Toad by himself. The mushroom switched on his flashlight, as the only other source of light, the headlamps of the car, was gone.

"Sounds like fun," he muttered sarcastically.

…

"I look like a fool," Bootler complained, tilting his sorcerer hat over his eyes in shame. "I do not like to play dress up," he continued.

"Oh well, I've always liked sorceresses," Noki smiled. "And it could be worst to be honest, at least we have nice-colored outfits. Yours is white, while ours are blue."

"I suppose it would have been most unpleasant to wear a pink costume," Bootler mused. "I am sure that everyone in the Boo Mansion would have laughed at me if that was the case."

"I like mine too, but that's not the point. Monty, are we there yet?" Jojora inquired in an annoyed tone.

The players had been following Monty Mole for ten minutes now, and the host still did not tell them what their challenge was about. Needless to say, Jojora was starting to be quite frustrated since she did not like doing nothing.

"As a matter of fact, we are!" Monty Mole turned to the players. "Welcome to Horror Land!"

Bootler coughed loudly. "I do not want to rain on your parade, but I find this place quite beautiful. The peaceful melodies sung by the crows are soothing my mind." The girls looked at him weirdly.

"Right, whatever you say," Jojora replied.

"I don't feel good," Noki gulped. "Look at all those spooky trees and pumpkins. They look like they're watching us!" she whimpered, easily impressed by her surroundings. Jojora scoffed.

"Oh please. Even kids would be braver than you!"

"Well, to be fair, depending on their age, they would not be conscious of the danger," Bootler pointed out. "Nevertheless, that is not the main point of this meeting. We need to focus on our mission."

Monty Mole clapped his hands. "Right! Let's get down to business, shall we? As I told you earlier, we are in Horror Land, a place featured in 'Mario Party 2'," he reminded them. "Now, none of you have heard of this place before, so let me enlighten you. Horror Land is very peculiar."

"How so?" Bootler wondered aloud, putting his hand on his chin.

"Well, for starters, every three hours, day becomes night and night becomes day."

Noki frowned. "How is that even possible?"

"This place is magical. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, here's the basis of this challenge : Toad must reach Mystery Mansion before night becomes day. This is Mystery Mansion, as well as the place where you will reside for the next few hours," he told them, pointing at the grand building next to their location.

"Not as grand as King Boo's Mansion," Bootler noticed, looking at the building from a distance.

"The challenge is called 'Mystic Relics' and is worth twenty five thousand coins," Monty Mole announced.

"Awesome!" cheered Noki excitedly.

"You three will guide Toad so that he makes his way to the mansion before his allotted time – a little more than two hours – is over, however, this task isn't as easy as it seems," Monty Mole declared mysteriously. Jojora cast him an annoyed glance while Noki sent him a questioning look. Bootler simply waited for the host to continue. "You see, Toad reaching this place alone won't be sufficient to win the game. He will have to bring five relics with him, if you want to add the full sum of money into your pot. Naturally, each relic is worth five thousand coins."

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Of course, it would have been too easy otherwise."

"Indeed," agreed Bootler. "However, the game would not be as interesting if the missions were all dull and painfully easy to complete."

"I guess I see your point."

"I'm wondering, so far, we've talked about Toad's job. What about us?" questioned Noki.

Monty Mole looked at her and grinned. "You see, Toad doesn't know what he should bring here, nor does he know where those relics are located. Your job is to find the answer to those questions and to relay the information to him through a walkie-talkie. Now, if Toad paid attention to what was said to him, he should still be near the place where we hid this mean of communication. Toad's only tools are a map and a flashlight."

Monty gave Noki the walkie-talkie. He then proceeded to open the doors of Mystery Mansion. "Well then, you know everything important, good luck!"

Reluctantly, the three players entered the house which hosted many parties, wondering if there was an easy way to win the challenge or not.

**Noki** : The further we're going into the game, the harder the missions become. Most of the missions require that you trust more or less your opponents, but you can't do that, which is paradoxical. Actually, the whole game is nothing but a giant paradox when you think about it.

…

Toad was waiting patiently, sitting on a bench near a small pond. He looked at the water, seeing the clear reflect of the moon and began to tap his fingers against his seat. "Oh man, it's so boring..."

Suddenly, he felt rather tense. "Hello? Is there someone around?" he asked, not sounding pleased one bit. There was a noise coming from behind him which sounded like a voice. Shining his flashlight on a spot of grass, he let out a breath, noticing that nobody was behind him. He went back to the bench but suddenly he heard another thing. However, this time around, the voice was not the same.

"Okay, I'm starting to lose my patience here. Show yourself!" he shouted, waving his flashlight around. "Well, apparently no one's here..." He took a few steps forward and heard the voice. Only this time, he knew who it was.

"Bootler! Are you playing tricks with me?" questioned Toad. "You're a little too old to play hide and seek, you know?" He then stopped talking to discern the place from where the voice was coming. Armed with his flashlight, he swept the soil with it until he found something strange.

"What's that... Oh! A walkie-talkie!" he yelled, not bothering to check his surroundings anymore. Toad picked up the hand-held communication device and spoke into it. "Hey, is that you, Bootler?"

"Why yes!" answered the ghost through the walkie-talkie. "For this challenge, we need you to find five specific items and to bring them back at Mystery Mansion. You should have a map with you, it would help if you knew where your final location was."

Toad was confused. "I don't have any map with me."

"Oh, really? Monty Mole told us that you did... That is quite strange."

Then, Toad slapped his forehead. "Silly me, I had completely forgotten about the envelope." He tore it open and retrieved a map as well as a pen. "Okay, so... Mystery Mansion... I found it!" he smiled, although Bootler could not see him. "So, what's my first item?"

Bootler was taken by surprise. "Well, we are currently working on it."

"Huh?"

"We do not know either, we only have clues littered everywhere which should help us but they are not easy to understand at all. Noki tries to decipher their meaning but she has no success so far."

"What about Jojora?"

"Well," Bootler started, feeling embarrassed, "she says that there is supposedly an exemption somewhere in the mansion, so she is looking for it as we speak. Yes, basically, she does not help at all. If anything, her ruckus makes it hard for Noki to concentrate on the task."

Toad rolled his eyes. "Figures. Are we timed?"

"Yes. I think we have more or less two hours, which is exactly why we need to find the first clue as fast as possible."

**Toad** : I find it funny that Jojora isn't helping us because she wants to find an exemption, while she blamed Flurrie at the beginning of the adventure because she was too selfish. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't really like Flurrie's way of playing the game but Jojora's game is so erratic that it's not funny anymore.

…

**Noki** : As I was trying to find the meaning of the clues, I couldn't help but look at what the others were doing. Jojora was being noisy and Bootler was taking an awful lot of time talking to Toad via the walkie-talkie. I was persuaded that at least one of them made us lose time on purpose. I mean, why would the producers hide an exemption in this mess? And why did Bootler talk to Toad like a schoolgirl telling her best friend about her crush?

Bootler made his way to Noki carefully, the device in one hand. "Did you find anything?"

"Not really," Noki replied. "There are a lot of things, and I somehow doubt that they are all relevant to our scavenger hunt. Come with me," she demanded gently. Bootler followed her until they reached a formation of music instruments.

"How coincidental," Bootler smiled to himself. "But what is so important about those?" he questioned.

"That's the thing. I managed to protect the instruments from Jojora because I'm more or less sure that it's a clue, but I don't know what it could possibly mean."

"How would you know that that is a clue? You cannot be one hundred percent sure."

Noki shook her head. "No, I am convinced that it's our clue. Why else would the instruments be disposed so neatly while the rest of the stuff is scattered everywhere? And don't tell me that it's her fault, we both know that the room wasn't very clean when we entered."

Bootler made his way to the instruments in question. They were four of them and they formed a strange shape. There was a trumpet located near the wall. Closer to Bootler and a little on his left was a violin. Even closer than the violin were a tuba on the left and a guitar on the right.

He frowned and opened his mouth, only to shut it right away after Jojora let out a scream. "I got a clue!"

The other two raced toward her position and examined what was supposedly a clue. It was located on the other side of the map which was on the wall. Jojora took it in her hands carefully, trying not to rip it in the process, and presented it to Noki and Bootler. "Oh great, more anagrams," Jojora complained.

niviseiedc

ztykul

cllneae

atinogire

rwhnie

luasgel

"Oh well, that could be worse," Bootler remarked. "Let us work hard to uncover the hidden words."

Jojora took a pen and started to write on a piece of paper that she had found earlier. "I was never good with anagrams, you know?"

"I have one!" Noki cheered. "'Klutzy' is the second word."

**Jojora** : I was honestly wondering how Noki did to find one right off the bat. I mean, it's impossible to come up with an answer like she did, unless you have an I.Q of at least one hundred and seventy. That wasn't the first time that she displayed her intelligence like that and I can't help but believe that somehow, she knew the answers beforehand.

"Challenge for the third one?" Jojora wondered. Bootler shook his head.

"No, it is impossible. There is no 'h' or 'g'. And I found the fifth one, which is obviously 'Whiner'," the ghost declared.

"How about 'Nacelle'," Jojora questioned. Noki looked at the word.

"It might be that," she confirmed.

Jojora rolled her eyes. "It might be or it is right?"

Bootler ignored her. "I think the last one means 'Seagull'," he noted.

Noki smiled as she soon found another word. "The fourth one is 'Originate'. I'm one hundred percent sure." Jojora looked at the different words they had managed to recreate.

"What the- That doesn't mean anything!" she exclaimed.

Bootler rubbed his temples. "Well, there might be more than meets the eye."

"Are you even sure that we needed to unscramble them?"

"No, there is no way to know that for sure, but that is the first thing that comes in mind when you see that," replied the Boo. "Besides, what else could we have done?"

"First word is 'Indecisive'," Noki finished.

"Great, now what?" Jojora snarled. "Those words have nothing in common, are we even sure that it's a clue?"

Noki rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Jojora, you were the one who told us that you had found a clue, so if anything, blame yourself and not Bootler and I."

Sensing tensions raising, Bootler was quick to give everyone another plan. "Let us look at the map in detail, we might be able to link one of those words with a location."

"What about the item? Remember that Toad doesn't know what he has to find either," Noki pointed out as she looked another time at the words. "I doubt he has to find a seagull."

Bootler seemed to be at a loss for an explanation. "I do not know, unfortunately."

"We're wasting time!" Jojora exclaimed loudly, kicking a piece of furniture in the process. "Let's skip this clue." Bootler sent her an incredulous look.

"We will not skip it. I am sure that the answer is right in front of our eyes, it would be extremely foolish of us to ignore it, especially after all the time we spent looking for an answer. However, if you do not want to help, feel free to look for other clues," Bootler declared, sure of himself.

"Let's call Toad!" suggested Noki. "He has been here before, maybe he knows something that we don't. And even if he doesn't, we have nothing to lose."

"Except for time," Jojora snapped. Noki glared at her, clearly unnerved by the fairy's attitude.

**Bootler** : We were in a predicament. Nobody knew what we were supposed to do, nor did they know how to succeed in this mission. We were abashed because we did not have much instructions to begin with and Toad, the only one who had previous knowledge of the area, was separated from us.

"Fine, I will call Toad if I must," Bootler gave up. "Meanwhile, please try to find the meaning of this clue."

* * *

_While the players wonder what they are supposed to do, time is ticking away! Will they manage to find at least one item before the challenge is over? Only time will tell!_

_One of them is only delaying the inevitable, though, for they will meet their demise next episode... _

_I tried to add more descriptions, but I don't know if it's visible or not. Hopefully, you will find the story more enjoyable that way. ^^_

_If you didn't vote on the poll located on my profile, now is the last possible time to do so as I will reveal the results at the end of the next chapter. ^^_

_Until next time !_


	27. Spooky Condemnation

**PrincessRosalinaFanboy** : Haha! Well, I personally like Pauline's design, but I do admit that there's something weird about her hair in Nintendo's Official Fanarts (or her cheeks). I sincerely hope they would consider putting her in their latest games, like Mario Party 9 or whatever (even as a minor character) instead of creating stupid characters like Queen Bee. And I can see why you would think like Jojora. So Noki's your pick for the Mole? Hopefully, she won't be executed in this chapter. ^^ Thanks for the review, it's always appreciated. ^^

**Champ** : Yup, I understand. It's not confusing on the one hand because the rules are clearly stated, but it is confusing on the other hand because the players themselves are confused and don't know where to begin. We'll see if your suspicion of the executed character was correct at the end of the chapter. ^^ It's strange how you can come to like her character that you completely disliked in a story. That happens to me a lot. Well, I hope you like the chapter. And thank you for the review, by the way!

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players managed to identify correctly four journal entries over six, gaining an additional fifteen thousand coins into the team pot, all thanks to Jojora's quick thinking. The next day, the players mingled in the morning and after lunch they met up with Monty Mole outside of their hotel. There, the host asked them to write a list with the players' names. The person at the top of the list would be the one they wanted to see with them on the final episode, while the one at the bottom would be the one they did not want to see make the final three. Eventually, Monty Mole revealed that the player whom mostly everyone wanted with them on the final episode would have a special role for the next mission. Being the chosen one, Toad was blindfolded and taken to a secret location, whereas the host explained the goal of the mission to the remaining players : they were to elucidate clues that they would later transmit to Toad so that he could join them at Mystery Mansion with five peculiar objects in hands. The game had already started and the players were all confused, would then even manage to add five thousand coins to their team pot?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

27 : Spooky Condemnation

Toad was rubbing his hands, trying to warm himself. He had been waiting on the same bench he had started at for quite some time now, and was not sure as to what his next move should be. The night was cold at Horror Land, and being caught off-guard, he had no time to prepare accordingly to his surroundings.

"What are they doing?" he asked to himself, exasperated. "I'm freezing!" Suddenly, he heard Bootler's voice at the end of the line and quickly put his walkie-talkie to his ear. "Oh please, tell me you found something!"

"Unfortunately, no," came Bootler's voice, sounding oddly discouraged. "Which is why we took the initiative to consult you."

Toad raised an eyebrow, flabbergasted. "That's fine and dandy, but I don't know anything. I haven't left my bench and I'm currently cursing my bad luck, so how could I help you?"

Bootler coughed. "Jojora found a clue, but we do not understand it. So far, we have uncovered the words hidden behind anagrams, so we wanted to know if they somehow rang a bell to you in view of the fact that you are the only one here who is knowledgeable about the area."

**Toad** : Honestly, Bootler wanted me to figure out his little clue, but that was stupid. I was freezing and alone whereas the two girls and he were in a warm place and had three brains to figure it out.

"Fine, fire away," Toad directed nonchalantly.

"As you wish. 'Indecisive', 'Klutzy', 'Nacelle', 'Originate', 'Whiner', 'Seagull'," the ghost enumerated.

Toad shook his head in disbelief. "I can't help you, it's a bunch of random words. Besides, I assume that you looked at the map trying to find a place related to those words, aren't I right? So if you didn't find anything, neither will I."

"I see," muttered Bootler, almost inaudibly. "Oh well, apparently, Jojora found something else, so I will leave you for now-"

Toad interrupted him. "No, stay in line, maybe I'll be able to help you as long as you explain everything to me at the same time."

…

Bootler made his way toward the commotion, thanking his ability to float over the various items which were lying messily on the floor. Noki and Jojora were already debating on the uselessness of the clue when he arrived.

"So," started the ghost, "may you be so kind as to tell me why you think it is a clue?" Bootler questioned.

"Hey, tell me what it looks like!" demanded Toad, since he could not see the supposed clue from where he was.

"Oh yes, of course! Well, it's a brown treasure chest with a yellow pattern on it," Bootler summed up. Toad did not reply, he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Well, I'm not sure, but look inside, there are tons of mushrooms," Jojora pointed out, opening the treasure chest. "Mushrooms, and Toad is a mushroom. To me, it seems like there's a connection between the two." Noki was thinking hard and gave a strange look at the chest. Bootler noticed this.

"Noki? Did you find something?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I might be onto something... Jojora, give me the map please," besought the blue-shelled girl. Jojora raised an eyebrow but did as she was asked. "Thank you," Noki stated, taking another look at the words they had unscrambled. Then, she glanced at the instruments from afar, and after that, she focused her attention on the treasure chest lying before her.

Jojora imitated her, wondering what the inhabitant of Isle Delfino could have remarked. "Well? Spill the beans!" she shouted, tapping her foot against the floor repeatedly.

"I think I found a way to discover what's a clue and what isn't," declared the blue Noki. Toad heard that through the walkie-talkie and was interested in her discovery.

"Please share!"

Noki laughed a little. "Just so you know, it's only a theory. Look at this map, we found out six anagrams, correct? One of them was 'Nacelle', right?"

"Well, I can't be sure seeing that I'm not here with you but-"

Jojora glared at the device Bootler held in his hand. "Shut up Toad, nobody asked you!"

Bootler put the palm of his hand on his forehead and motioned for Noki to continue her explanation. "Thank you, Bootler. At least someone pays attention. Anyway, as I was saying, we have the word 'Nacelle' and a bunch of anagrams. Don't you remember something involving those two things? To me, it seems oddly reminiscent of the challenge we played in Toad's Midway Madness."

Jojora frowned slightly. "Sure, but it could be a coincidence."

Noki shook her head. "Three coincidences look more like a similitude to me. Look at this chest! The second challenge involved a treasure hunt. And now, look at the instruments over there. Don't they remind you of last episode?"

**Jojora** : Noki kept finding little clues like this one which confused me because they were far-fetched. It's weird because she's always the one who finds these clues.

**Bootler** : I must admit, Noki impressed me. Her theories were contrived, however, they made sense and actually helped us during the challenge. I always noticed that she was much more smarter than everyone was giving her credit for, even though I cannot help but question the boundaries between intelligence and previous knowledge of the task at hand.

"Hmmm, if I may?" asked Toad.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me what sort of objects were in the treasure chest. Apart from the mushrooms, I mean."

Jojora opened the chest another time and began to make its inventory. "Well, there's a strange rainbow block with a question mark on it, some sort of mauve bell, a yellow key and – is this a bomb?" she screamed, dropping the item.

Toad chuckled at the other end of the walkie-talkie. "Don't worry, that's a Bowser Bomb, it won't explode. And Bootler, you told me there was a yellow pattern on the chest. Can you tell me if it represents an arrow?"

"It does!" Bootler exclaimed, surprised. "How did you know?"

"That's a Plunder Chest, an item which first appeared during 'Mario Party 2'," replied Toad. Noki clapped her hands and spoke next to Bootler.

"Then that means that your first stop is the item shop, right? There's only one in this world, apparently," the girl blurted out as she scanned the map, looking for the shop. "There it is!"

"I see it too!" Toad yelled. "Well, I better get going!"

**Toad** : Bootler's description of the Plunder Chest was very vague, which is why it took me a long time to realize what it truly was. Had he been clear from the beginning, we could have saved a few valuable minutes.

…

Toad checked his map and determined his course. He knew that he could be here faster if he was to cut through the thick grass, however, he would have no guarantee concerning his position, and the mushroom knew he was prone to getting lost.

"Well, either I take this shortcut, or I follow the normal path with directions," Toad whispered to himself, weighing the pros and cons of his action. "However, if I follow the marked path, I'll know that I'm in the right direction thanks to the Koopa Banks."

He folded his map and put it inside his pocket. Flashlight in hand, he began to run at a moderate speed, knowing that the key of success of this challenge was to pace himself. The mushroom boy kept on running until he passed the first Koopa Bank. From there, he had to go straight until he reached a small altar which first served as the starting point of this former adventure board.

Turning his head to his right, he found the second bank, and smiled to himself. "All right, I'm on the right track!" Knowing that his objective was near in sight, Toad ran at full speed toward the shop. He knocked on the door and immediately entered, not bothering to wait for an answer. An old Boo shopkeeper with curly gray hair welcomed him.

"Hello, how may I help you?" croaked the old woman, smiling and showing her missing teeth.

Toad rubbed the back of his forehead and tried to speak coolly, failing epically. "Hmm, I'm from a game show and I'm supposed to get something from your shop, I think?"

His interlocutor closed her eyes, nodding. "Well, I do have the item you need, but do you have mine?"

**Toad** : That was when it dawned on me. The others had forgotten to tell me the item I needed to bring back to Mystery Mansion. Maybe they didn't know it themselves, nevertheless, it was suspicious.

…

Jojora, being the nearest from the hand-held device, decided to answer it. "Yeah? It's Jojora."

"I know that, I mean, I'm not stupid, I can recognize your voice," Toad retorted. "Anyway, I'm inside the shop and the shopkeeper tells me that I need to bring her something, do you have any clue?"

**Jojora** : What was unnerving was the fact that we didn't know what Toad was doing. He could have been doing a great job, just like he could have been sabotaging, we'll never know.

"Hold on," the fairy told him, hopping over various items. She went toward Noki and Bootler who were still trying to find out the relevance of the anagrams. "Toad said the shopkeeper told him to fetch her an item, but he doesn't know what item."

"Well, that's problematic," Bootler sighed, scratching his chin. "Oh, I have an idea! Let us check one more time the items inside the treasure chest," he proposed. "The answer might be there."

Noki nodded and stood up. She and Bootler opened the chest and told Toad what were the items inside. "Red and golden mushrooms, rainbow block, Bowser costume, yellow key, purple bell, Bowser bomb, magic lamp-" She was interrupted by Toad.

"Hey!" they heard him say, "do I need to bring you a magic lamp? Really? Cool! Hey guys, that's what I need, a magic lamp! Where can I find one?"

Noki and Bootler glanced at each other, shrugging while Jojora took the map from them and studied it carefully. "There's a tiny village near Mystery Mansion, try to ask the people who live there," she suggested smartly.

**Noki** : Jojora wasn't even sure that there was a magic lamp in the village, but she told Toad to go there anyway. She could have tried to make us lose time. Not to mention that she didn't help much during the challenge.

After they had received a positive reply from Toad, Bootler, Noki and Jojora went back to their clue hunt. "This game is much harder than I thought," Noki smiled to herself.

Jojora scoffed. "Not really. Once you get the gist of it, you're pretty much settled for victory."

Bootler gave her a weird stare. He then decided to ignore the anagram and to look at the instrument formation, rubbing his temples.

**Bootler** : I knew that somehow, the answer to this puzzle was simple. It was so close and yet so far.

At the moment where he was going to say something, he heard Noki's shoot and faced her. "What is it?"

"I knows!" she yelled in an elated tone. Bootler shook his head, chuckling to himself.

"Now, now, Noki. Now is not the time to use improper grammar," he berated jokingly. Noki shook her head. She was so excited about her discovery that she did not get the old Boo's jest.

"'I knows' is the acrostic hidden in those words! Take the first letter of each unscrambled word and that's what you get," Noki explained. "It's like, 'Marvelous, Awesome, Robust, Intelligent, Outstanding'. Take the first letter of each word and it will give the name 'Mario'."

Bootler's eyes widened. "I see! How clever of them!" he praised. "This message must be the clue! Let us try to find out what it means, we are finally nearing the truth." Both contestants agreed and turned their full attention to the back of the map.

…

Toad knew that he could not afford to waste any time, which was why he was running. He was not running at his maximum speed, but he was still quite fast. With only a flashlight in his hands, he was not burdened with any weight and that allowed him to maintain his pace. In soon time, he faced Horror Land's only village and smiled, hopeful.

"Where to, now?" he mused. Taking a few steps forward, he was hit with realization as he saw another shop, much sober than the previous one, called the 'Genie's Den'. "So there wasn't only one shop..."

He climbed the stairs, knocked on the door and opened it, finding himself in a strange abode. On his right side, Cauldrons were bubbling and their contents were a strange purple color. On his left, multiple types of strange ingredients, ranging from Poison Mushrooms to Subcon Potions, lied on shelves. Toad naturally deduced that he was in an apothecary's shop.

"Hello, is someone here?" he tried, eyeing the dangerous mixtures with caution. Suddenly, someone appeared at the counter, startling Toad.

"Hey, can I help you?" questioned the purple Swooper, intrigued by Toad. The mushroom coughed loudly.

"I'm from this game, called the Mole. And I need to bring a magic lamp to the old lady at the other shop outside your village," explained Toad. "So basically, I was wondering if you had one that you'd be willing to give me."

"And I do have one!" grinned the apothecary. "Here, take it," he handed the golden lamp to Toad.

"Wow, thank you! Well, I'll be going now! Thanks again!"

As he closed the door, he immediately darted toward the item shop, remembering perfectly the path he had just used.

…

"Ugh! Where's the final exemption of the game?" groaned Jojora, tossing a painting carelessly to the side. "I've been looking for at least an hour now!"

Noki sighed. "Maybe it's time to face the truth, Jojora, there's no exemption in this mansion, and there might be no exemption at all," she speculated. "Besides, I thought you knew who the Mole was. Or was it a lie?"

The ice fairy rolled her eyes. "Hush. I've never had any exemption before, so if anything, _I_ deserve this one. And yes, I know who the Mole is, I just want to stack the odds in my favor, that's all."

"Don't blame us if we lose this challenge then, you're not helping at all."

Jojora narrowed her eyes. "Who was the one who found two of the three clues so far? It was me, so think before you speak." Suddenly, she stopped and took another look at the painting she had just thrown on the floor. "A painting? Could it be our next clue?"

The painting represented a purple ghost which seemed to melt into the ground. Behind him stood his horrific shadow, which strangely did not have the same posture as the ghost, as if the shadow had a mind of its own. Jojora picked up the painting and made her way toward Bootler.

"Are you familiar with this painting?" she questioned.

"Why yes! I think I have seen it somewhere before, but I would not be able to tell you where," he apologized. "Why do you ask?"

Jojora shrugged. "I have a feeling this is another clue. Look, it's a painting, or, in a sense, a masterpiece. And it represents a ghost. Since we are in Horror Land, I think there's some sort of connection."

**Bootler** : Jojora did not help much during the challenge, however, she was the one who found most of the hidden clues, strangely. That was highly suspicious, considering the fact that she did not care about the challenge in the first place.

**Jojora** : Whenever you ask Bootler something, he'll respond with an answer as vague as possible. Yet, he always looks like he knows what's going on, which is find of fishy if you ask me. That and his secretive personality make me think about his real position in the game.

Suddenly, before they could utter a few more words, they heard Noki speaking inside the walkie-talkie and decided to what she had to say to Toad. "Toad! The next item you need to find is near the village! You have to ask Mr.I, I'm sure that's what the clue means."

"What?" they heard Toad's voice from the communication device. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier? I'm already headed toward the shop! In fact, I see it in the distance."

"Well, sorry but I'm doing my best," Noki justified herself. "And if you look closely at your map, you should see that there is another Mr.I located near the shop so really, no need to be upset."

"Alright, sorry, it's just that running around randomly isn't my forte," Toad replied. "Well, I'm entering the shop now, talk to you later!"

…

**Toad** : Just as I was reaching the shop, Noki called me and told me that there was another item on the outskirts of the village. I kind of doubt that the clues were so hard that she, Bootler and Jojora couldn't understand them in a short lapse of time. That was way too coincidental.

This time, Toad did not knock on the door and entered calmly, a smile on his lips as he showed the magic lamp to the old Boo. She smiled back, showing her wrinkles.

"I see that you have brought the magic lamp," she pronounced in a low voice. "Take this, this is the item you are looking for." The Boo lady gave him a music box on which was a single black musical note. The mushroom took it and spun the handle, releasing an eerie music in the air.

"Nice melody, huh?" smiled the owner of the shop. Toad returned the smile, although it was not sincere.

"Yeah, well, I have to go now! Bye!" he yelled hurriedly as he escaped through the front door. He did not have to travel much to reach Mr.I's place. He directed his flashlight toward the circular stone and moved around it in a circle, to make the Mr.I appear. After five minutes, he decided that it was enough.

"Obviously, he isn't here. Awesome," he muttered to himself sarcastically. Pushing the single button of his walkie-talkie, he spoke clearly. "Noki, I'm heading toward the other Mr.I, the one who lives near Mystery Mansion."

"What about the other one?"

"Well, he isn't here so there's not much I can do. Talk to you later." He pocketed the communication device and started running at full speed toward Mystery Mansion, cursing his bad luck.

…

"What did he say?" inquired Bootler who was studying the painting Jojora had found, a few feet away from her . Noki kept staring at the music instruments and took a moment to reply.

"He told me that it was the wrong place, nothing else," shrugged the blue-shelled girl. Jojora walked to them, empty-handed.

"I didn't find the last clue," she exposed. "I think I'll help you for the time being, since I don't have anything else to do."

"You're finally giving up on that exemption, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not giving up. But maybe you're right. Maybe there's no exemption in this mansion," she stated her eyes closed. "Anyway, if you want my two cents on that painting, I'd say it's somehow related to King Boo Mansion. You know, when we visited the art gallery after the challenge?" she recalled.

Bootler sent her a suspicious glance. "I do not recall you looking at the paintings in that art gallery," he pointed out.

Jojora scoffed, still looking intently at the purple ghost. "Well, what did you think I was doing? Of course I looked at the paintings, I mean, I studied arts for crying out loud!"

**Bootler** : I did wonder at the time whether Jojora had slipped up or not. I knew for a fact that she did come with us at the beginning of the visit, however, as far as I remembered, she left as soon as the occasion presented itself. We have no definite proof that she came back at a later time.

"This is _so_ not what I had imagined for the last mission of the penultimate episode," complained Jojora, crouching down on the floor, bored. "Where's the excitement?"

"You're behaving like a child," Noki could not help saying, turning her attention to the problem at hand.

…

Toad panted heavily as he skidded to a halt. He almost fell in the mud but thankfully, he managed to catch himself and used his arms to regain his balance. The mushroom waved his flashlight around, catching a glimpse of a stone which resembled the one he had seen earlier. Tiptoeing his way toward it, he suddenly took a step back as a Mr.I appeared before his eyes.

"Hello sir, I assume you are from The Mole, aren't you?" questioned the big clue eye. Toad only nodded in reply, unable to utter a single word. "Well, I would be disposed to reward you with what you need, unfortunately you can't take the easy way in your game, or can you?" he carried on, his speech sounding refine.

"What do you imply?" Toad narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me I have to fetch you something. Please don't," he could only hope. The Mr.I seemed to smile for a moment, or so Toad thought, seeing that he did not have a mouth.

"Fear not my friend! My goal isn't to be a nuisance to you, actually, it's quite the contrary." Toad blinked, speechless. "I am going to ask you one question, very easy for you to figure out, might I add! What is my greatest fear?"

**Toad** : Right, easy question.

"I'd say... Sharp things?" guessed the mushroom, randomly. The Mr.I closed his eye and shook his head.

"Why no! Take another guess!" he exclaimed energetically. Toad put both hands on his head, thinking furiously.

"Err... Tweezers?"

The giant eye blinked. "Hmm, not quite."

"Bugs?"

"Not at all!"

"Candies?"

"Why are you spewing nonsense?"

"Sorry!" Toad grinned sheepishly. "Truth to be told, I have no idea so I'm just taking wild guesses." The contestant then felt something in his pocket. "Oh, I'm so stupid!" Taking out his walkie-talkie, he tried to contact one of the other three players. "Hey, could someone help me?"

In soon time, he heard the other walkie-talkie being manipulated and heard Noki's voice. "It's me again Toad, what is it?"

"I'm in front of our second obstacle. The Mr.I asked me what was his greatest fear. Obviously, I don't know, but I thought you might have had a clue, like you did before with the magic lamp," he replied.

Noki was silent for a moment, it took her at least fifteen seconds to answer. "Well... Maybe he's afraid of seagulls. That was one of the words we unscrambled a few moments ago. Either that or whiners, though that would be very strange."

"Thanks!" Toad cut the conversation short and turned to the blue eye. "Your greatest fear...could it involve seagulls?"

Toad's interlocutor nodded his head. "Correct! I'm glad you were able to find it. Look behind me, there should be an animal inside a cage, this is your next item." Toad nodded and did as we was told. Behind the Mr.I was a frog.

"Oh man, I don't feel like doing this to one of my own," he trailed off, looking sorry for the poor animal.

"Don't worry, Monty Mole assured me that they would release the frog afterward!" reassured the eye. "I'll be seeing you!" Toad nodded absent-mindedly.

"I'll call you Toad Jr!" decided the mushroom, talking to the frog. It only cawed in response.

…

Bootler put the hand-held communication device back in place and focused his attention on the instrument formation. "Toad told me that he has succeeded in obtaining his second item, and asked us to hurry up a little."

Noki acquiesced, looking intensely at the musical instrument. Suddenly she reached for the map and shouted victoriously. "Guys, look at the map, there are musical instruments here! I think it's Toad's new destination!" she smiled victoriously. Bootler glanced at her nervously.

"I had realized that," he told her. "However, are we convinced that it is not one of the many red herrings this game contains?" Noki tilted her head.

"You think it's too good to be true?" Bootler nodded. "Well, you're right, but we don't have anything else so we might as well try. Besides, we must hurry or else we could lose this whole challenge. I'm going to inform Toad!"

"That's completely stupid and pointless!" Jojora remarked, putting her hands in the air, exasperated. "We don't even know what Toad has to bring back! So okay, let's say that he goes there. What's next?"

**Jojora** : Noki was making a stupid decision, and Bootler knew it, yet he didn't oppose much resistance. Do I think it's fishy? Heck yes!

"We'll know when he gets here," Noki declared, waving her off. Bootler shrugged.

"She has a point."

**Bootler** : Jojora was raising too many objections in my opinion. While I also thought that Noki's approach of the challenge was a controversial issue, she at least suggested something, which was the right thing to do, considering we were lost.

**Noki** : I was slightly suspicious of Toad because we couldn't see what he was doing. For all we knew, he could have made us lose time on purpose by taking indirect paths. Even worse, he could have been dilly-dallying without us knowing.

…

The mushroom had finally reached the place where the instruments were located, which was not far away from his starting point. Sighing to himself, he started to examine the violin. Feeling the fabric, he tried to see if there was something hidden on the instrument, to no avail.

"Well, let's not waste any time."

Toad went to the trumpet and put his hand inside it. The trumpet swallowed his arm entirely but Toad never found anything inside it. Frowning, he decided to inspect the trumpet closer, manipulating it from various angles. Once again, his hopes were shattered. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Still nothing," he muttered, puzzled. Gulping he turned toward the piano. Since he could clearly see that there was nothing on its surface, he wasted no time and began to crawl under it. It took him a while to examine the underside of the big piano thoroughly and when he emerged from under it, he was still without an item, raising to his feet, the mushroom banged his head against the piano.

"Ow!" he howled in pain. "That hurts!"

Suddenly, the light of his flashlight disappeared for less than a second, surprising him. "Okay, what's happening now?" He set his eyes on his device and then decided to shrug it off. "Hey, Noki?" he called through the walkie-talkie.

Bootler was the one who replied. "No Toad, this is Bootler. What is the matter?"

"There's nothing in the instruments," Toad told him.

"Oh, really?" After what felt like minutes, Bootler let out a small sound. "Oh Toad, sorry, we misled you! Not by much, but we did! I have in front of me four instruments, strangely disposed. However, if I were to add one more instrument to this creation, for example, a flute, I would see before me the same instruments we were supposed to find last episode!" explained the old butler rapidly. "Moreover, the instruments would then form a circle! Take a look at your surroundings and head toward a fire. I will give you further instructions once you are there."

**Toad** : That was very odd. Bootler and Noki always found the solutions to my problems, only it was always too late. We could have saved time, had they been correct from the beginning. Oh, and Jojora was being her usual self, she didn't help at all.

Toad walked toward the big flame and waited. All of a sudden two Boo and two Mr.I appeared, scaring him. "Woah!"

"Hi man!" greeted one of the Boo. "We're a band! Try to match the instruments with their owner! Do so and you'll win an awesome prize!" he exclaimed with a wink. Five musical instruments appeared before Toad.

"Okay Bootler," Toad spoke, "I'm supposed to give one instrument to each of the musicians. Kind of reminiscent of one of our previous challenges, huh?"

Bootler chuckled at the other end of the line. "Toad, if my assumptions are correct, there should be a musician located behind the others. Give him a trumpet. Then, you should see another musician located to your left. Give him a violin."

"Okay... Trumpet for you," he gave the Mr.I at the back said item. "And violin for you," he smiled, entrusting the Boo with the violin. "What next?"

"Return to where the instruments are located. Give a saxophone to the musician on your left and a guitar to the one on your right," Bootler directed. Toad complied and soon, he found himself with a flute.

"There are four of you, yet five instruments lied on the ground," he mused. "Alright!" He grabbed the flute and positioned himself on the opposite side of the Boo who had a violin. The four musicians clapped for his success.

"Congratulations, take this Magical Flute, it's one of the items you need!" smiled the leader of the group. Toad thanked them, picked up the cage where was the frog and the music box.

However, as he was leaving, his eyes darted toward his flashlight. It was off. Fumbling around, the mushroom tried to activate it so that he would at least know where he was placing his feet, unfortunately he had no success. The battery was dead.

"Bootler, we have a problem."

…

Toad was rushing toward Mystery Mansion, holding the most valuable items of the game. With the flashlight officially out-of-order, the four players had unanimously decided that Toad had to come back before their allotted time was over. Furthermore, the night was dark, and navigating without any source of light was no easy feat. The mushroom trudged along the patio and finally stopped in front of the building. Something, or rather, someone, was deliberately blocking his path.

A final obstacle needed to be braved. An obstacle which would test Toad's moral, his determination, as well as how much he valued teamwork.

"Why hello there," welcomed a mystical voice, belonging to a blue Boo with long blond hair, part of which covered her left eye. Two red hairpins were holding her lock perfectly. "My, you sure are quiet, did you lose your tongue?" giggled the individual.

Before Toad was standing season two's winner, Boonty Ghoste. Toad did not know what to say. "You're...the previous winner..."

**Toad** : It was unreal. I was flabbergasted, I had no idea that Boonty Ghoste would wait for me at the entrance of the mansion. I felt so special... And privileged in a way.

Boonty ran her hand in her hair. "That I am." She then crossed her arms. "And I have a little something for you... Something... That could help you achieve what I accomplished before you," she murmured as if she was casting a spell.

Toad caught a glimpse of a green glimmer in her hand. "That's...!"

She waved an exemption card in front of him. "Pretty much. The final exemption of this game... Just for you. There is a catch, however," she suddenly withdrew her hand.

Toad raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch then?"

"In this case, it's a trade. Give me your relics and I'll give you the exemption. It's only fair, don't you think?" she smiled, twirling the card in her hand. Toad looked tempted. "So, what will your choice be? Shall friendship prevail against greediness? Or will temptation ruin everything? The cards are dealt."

Toad looked at Boonty, and then he watched Toad Jr. Gulping, he made his decision. "This game's all about decisions. You're playing with people that you don't really know. At first, you think this game's about teamwork, that you're playing with everyone in order to win the money." Boonty stayed silent and nodded, remembering her own game.

"But then, over the course of time, as the number of players dwindles, you begin to realize that you're not playing for everyone. You're only playing for yourself. At each execution, someone leaves. This someone is most likely a person that you kicked out of the game, because you scored a higher score than them on the quiz. And when it's down to the wire, you know that you have to take every chances and possibilities that are offered to you," the mushroom pursued. Boonty smiled knowingly, recalling the fact that she had been a very cunning player, and that she had eliminated some of her opponents that way.

"And yet, when you are offered opportunities like this one at the latest stages of the game, you can't help but waver. The players that you regarded as your competition... You begin to see them in a new light. They aren't only your opponents, they are also your friends. And you don't want to backstab your friends, you'll never want to," he finished. "So no, I won't take the exemption. I know who the Mole is and I want to play a fair game."

Boonty could not retain her laughter. "Well said," she winked, opening the door leading to Mystery Mansion. "Your friends are waiting."

…

Bootler, Noki and Jojora waited anxiously before the door leading to the outside of Mystery Mansion. They had heard Toad talking to a person they did not know, they wanted to listen to the exchange, but it did not work. They could only understand snatches of conversation. Suddenly, they backed away, the door had been opened by someone and Toad stepped inside the building, glad his challenge was finally over. Before they could exchange a few words, Monty Mole appeared in the door frame.

Monty Mole grinned as he looked as the players. "Well, I see that Toad managed to reach Mystery Mansion before the sun replaced the moon! So congratulations, the first part of your challenge was a success!" He paused, taking a deep breath. "However, as you know, he also had to return with five different items in his possession. We'll now find out how well he fared."

The host waddled his way to the three different items Toad had brought to the mansion. "I see a frog, a music box and a magical flute which means that you guys earned fifteen thousand coins! Let's applaud for a job well done!" he shouted excitedly.

Challenge's Results :

_Money Won : 25 000 – 10 000 = 15 000_

_Team Pot : 193 000 coins_

The players began to clap for their success, but were immediately stopped by Monty Mole who had raised his hand. "A job well done, indeed... But you all need to consider a few things since your next elimination is tonight." At those words, the players felt a sense of dread, reminded of their final execution ceremony.

"Like what?" Jojora asked, annoyed.

"Well, for starters, Toad only brought back three items with him, instead of five. You all need to wonder why that happened. We were monitoring you for the whole duration of the challenge, and we found out that Toad decided to call quits once he saw that his flashlight didn't work anymore. Question is : did he sabotage it?"

"No I didn't!" Toad reacted strongly. "Really, I never dropped it or whatever, it just died on me."

"I heard that Jojora found most of the clues, but that she stopped once she discovered the fourth one. Why did she stop? Maybe she secretly hoped that everyone would dismiss her act of sabotage as a technical difficulty?"

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Enough with the witty statements, we'll all do what we have to do."

"But what about Noki? I heard that she made Toad run from places to places, wasting valuable time in the process. Not to mention that she seemed to be struggling to keep the meaning of the clues to herself."

Noki opened her mouth but she closed it afterward, shaking her head. "Pointing fingers is useless."

"And to conclude, I'd like you to reflect over Bootler's actions during the challenge. When describing the clues he saw before him, he was very vague. He also looked quite like the expert, when solving the last riddle. Suspicious much?"

Bootler let out a chuckle. "Why do you not take the quiz and vote for me then? That way, you would know whether you were correct this entire time..." Monty Mole laughed.

"Well, I'd also want you to meet someone who was privy to this game even before you first stepped off your helicopter back on day one," Monty Mole told them. "Toad already met her." The contestants sent puzzled glances at Toad, who ignored them and fixed the front door.

"Bonjour tout le monde!" greeted Boonty warmly. "I am most honored to see the final four of this game. Quite a diverse cast, if I do say so myself." Jojora's eyes were bulging.

"Boonty Ghoste, winner of season two!" Now, Bootler and Noki understood who she was.

"Our friend, Boonty, asked Toad if he wanted to trade his items for an exemption, thankfully for you he refused." The three players were relieved and thanked him profusely. "Any reason why you refused, Toad?"

Toad rubbed the base of his nose. "Well, let's just say that it would be stupid to play cutthroat now. I've never backstabbed anyone up to today and I don't intend to start now."

"Imagine that you leave the game tonight, how will you feel?" questioned the host. Toad frowned in response.

"Obviously, I'll be mad at myself. What kind of question is that?" Everyone chuckled. Monty turned to Boonty.

"This is our final four, who do you think the Mole is?"

Boonty raised an eyebrow. "Hahaha, as if I would tell you of all people! I know better than to tell you what I truly think..."

Monty Mole blushed as the players laughed at him. "Anyway, any advice for the players?"

Boonty nodded. "Remember everyone, it's a game. A simple game. Don't feel ashamed in yourself if you meet your demise tonight, instead, look at what you've done throughout the adventure and learn of that experience. That's all."

"Thank you Boonty, it was a pleasure to see you again," smiled the host. He then faced the players. "We will have dinner at the Broken Altar restaurant at nine P.M sharp. Feel free to do whatever you want until then! Bye!"

Monty Mole and Boonty left, reminiscing about the past adventure, as the players stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Noki broke the silence. "I know it's not like myself to do this but... I wish you luck everyone. Sorry to leave like this, I really need to look at my journal to take the best decision for tonight." The blue-shelled girl stood up and fled outside the mansion. Soon the others did the same.

…

The players had taken the last three hours to recollect their thoughts as to who the Mole was, and had met up with their host at the Broken Altar as agreed upon. Remarkably, the food establishment was empty, save for a few waiters and waitresses who were preparing the players' dinner table.

Monty Mole led the players inside the picturesque restaurant, looking joyful as he took his place at the end of the table. The others chose their seat and sat down. After choosing what they were going to eat, the players and Monty Mole conversed.

"Soon, there will be three of you," he started, gazing at the kitchen. "With tonight's final execution ceremony, I hope you're all more ready than ever. Remember guys, you're doing this for almost two hundred thousand coins. Surely you'd want to be prepared."

"Thanks for reminding us," Jojora rolled her eyes, tapping her nails against the table. "I had completely forgotten about the wonderful upcoming execution."

"Oh well," shrugged Monty, "I'm only doing what I do best : stating the obvious." The players laughed a sincere laugh, a rare sight in a game like The Mole. They knew that one of them would barely miss on the final and even the Mole was sad that things had to happen that way.

"I don't want to go home," Toad groaned. "I want to keep on playing, even though there are things that bother me in this game from time to time."

Bootler agreed with his coalition partner. "I have a strong suspicion that I might go home tonight, and if that was the case, I would like to thank everyone here for making the game as challenging as ever," he grinned, holding his glass of wine that had just been filled by a waiter. Everyone did the same.

"We've outlasted many players, we should be proud of ourselves," continued Noki.

"Well, I still want to make the final," Jojora noted. "I won't go down without a fight."

"Neither are we," retorted Toad.

"After dinner, each of you will take a quiz of ten questions, as usual, pertaining to the Mole's identity. I wish you luck, but for now..." The host clasped his hands together. "Let's have a good meal."

The players nodded and the group ate mostly in silence, thinking about the upcoming execution.

…

_1) What is the Mole's gender?_

_-Male_

_-Female_

**Toad** : Taking this final questionnaire, I don't feel fine at all. I have against me three strong opponents, and I know that even if I'm the strongest physically, I'm the weakest mentally. Take Noki for example, she has trouble lifting a fork – okay, I'm exaggerating – but she would beat us in any mental challenge. Perfect cover for the Mole. Weak on the outside, strong on the inside.

_2) Who was the Mole paired up with during the Arts VS Craps challenge?_

_-Jojora_

_-Toad_

_-Noki_

_-Bootler_

**Jojora** : Bootler completely sabotaged the art mission when he didn't mention to me that Toad and Noki were in the other room, doing the same job as us. Thinking about it, I should have known that something was wrong, he was acting all fidgety for no apparent reason.

_3) Did McHallyboo select the Mole's creation as the best piece of work?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Bootler** :Jojora was the one who chose the wrong masterpiece when we were asked to determine which one Toad and Noki had created. She was also the one who decided to be part of the group which was good at arts. In the end, she was the sole responsible for the loss of thirty thousand coins, which is a lot mind you.

_4) Did the Mole correctly identify the masterpiece the other team had made?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Toad** : Coincidentally, Jojora was the one who decided that our masterpiece was the heart-shaped one, while it wasn't the case at all. I heard from Bootler that she immediately discounted our 'ideas sprouting from Man's head' creation. I don't know, I just thought it was suspicious.

**Noki** : Bootler refused to listen to me. And after the challenge was over, the only thing he could say to justify himself was that he thought me and Toad would get exemptions if we were to make him stop the challenge. That was a very pathetic excuse, and there was no way I was letting it slide.

_5) During the Distant Memories mission, how many time did the Mole give the name of the player they thought had written the excerpts to Monty Mole?_

_-One Time_

_-Two times_

_-Three times_

_-Four Times_

_-Five Times_

_-Six Times_

**Jojora** : Just when the odds were not in our favor, Toad suggested that we answer Mario for the next to last journal entry. I mean, there was no way Mario had written this excerpt, so that made me question this mushroom's honesty. He does a lot of idiotic things like this one, which often cost us money.

_6) What was the Mole's list?_

_-Top : Toad ; Middle : Noki ; Bottom : Jojora._

_-Top : Bootler ; Middle Toad ; Bottom : Noki._

_-Top : Bootler ; Middle Noki ; Bottom : Jojora._

_-Top : Toad ; Middle : Jojora ; Bottom : Bootler._

**Bootler** : Oh, the irony. Monty Mole told us that our list would not be revealed and yet, here they are. While Toad's list does not really alarm me, I cannot help but wonder ; assuming that he is the Mole, would he not know everything about the upcoming challenges? If so, that would make a lot of sense for him to put me at the top of his list, in view of the fact that I am a very slow runner.

_7) What did the Mole do during the Antic Relics challenge?_

_-They searched for clues in the Mansion_

_-They had to look for items in Horror Land_

**Toad** : Bootler does things in this game, that are really fishy when you think about it. Strangely, there's always something weird that he does during each challenge, but you don't pay it much attention most of the time since his actions are overshadowed by that of the other players. And well, wouldn't it be great for the traitor to float by as blame is put on the others' back?

**Noki** : While everyone thanks Toad for refusing that exemption, they forget that the reason why we had to stop the challenge was because his flashlight had stopped working. It's The Mole, there's no way the producers didn't check the equipment before giving it to him. That's why I believe that he might have done something to it.

_8) Was the Mole offered an exemption during episode seven?_

_-Yes_

_-No_

**Jojora** : Bootler seems honorable, which is to his credit. Yet, that could be used as a good mask for the Mole. I'm pretty sure he executed many players because they thought he was your everyday old Boo, but I'll tell you a secret : he's not as innocent as he seems.

_9) What is the Mole's job?_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Butler_

_-Gardener_

_-Sculptor_

**Bootler** : I shall reiterate what I said at the end of the 'Arts versus Craps' challenge. Noki did not try to convince me that she was not playing for an exemption. I did not flee after telling her that I did not believe her, I kept on looking for materials that Jojora wanted to use in our workpiece. However, Noki immediately retreated to her room. She might have done that purposefully to avoid discussion and tell everyone that I refused to listen to her.

_10) Who is the Mole?_

_-Bootler_

_-Noki_

_-Jojora_

_-Toad_

**Noki** : You can't honestly believe that Jojora is innocent. She single-handedly made us lose thirty thousand coins. And that was only during the first challenge of this episode. In the mini-challenge, she proposed wrong answers at least two times and then she made it look like it was thanks to her that we had won. And in the last challenge, she wasn't helping. Actually, she found a pretext so she wouldn't have to help.

…

The moon was very high in the sky, and it shone greatly, illuminating the various white and fluorescent flowers which bordered a small pond. Monty Mole was located in front of this pond, on a gray slate which once served as the abode of Big Boo. He was not here tonight, probably busy stealing stars, which would explain why the sky was so empty. Monty Mole looked at the players as they all passed a row of bags – their belongings – and sat down on the very bench where Toad had started that afternoon's mission.

"Welcome players, to your seventh and last execution," Monty Mole began, his voice devoid of any emotion. "You all know how executions work, when I call your name, you make your way toward the screen. If a green light appears, you are safe and you will be one of our lucky finalists. However, if a red light appears, your game is over, and you have just missed out on the final," he carried on, his tone ominous. "Tonight, nobody but the Mole is safe, everyone is fair game."

Monty Mole paused for a long time before resuming his speech. As he pronounced that line, he looked at the players in the eyes. "In case of a tie, the player who scored the lowest will be executed." Another pause.

"Tonight, we have a tie."

The players glanced at each other. Some of them sighed while others buried their head into their hands.

"Well, everything is settled. Let's begin the ceremony!" he exclaimed, looking at a player in particular. "Toad, earlier today, you had the possibility to earn yourself an exemption. You refused it. Let's see if you made the right choice."

Toad nodded almost imperceptibly and walked toward the screen. He eyed the television with fear. Gulping one last time, he opened his eyes, facing his fate.

**T-O-A-D**

…

…

…

…

…

**GREEN**

Toad let out a small sigh and went back to his seat, watching each of the remaining contestants. They were all afraid that tonight would be their night.

"Jojora, you were always so confident on the previous quizzes and you were always volunteering to show everyone that you knew who the Mole was," stated the host, playing with his mouse. "Let's see if your confidence can carry you to the next episode."

Jojora stood up proudly and made her way to the screen. One could see that she was anxious. Monty had told everyone that there was a tie, after all...

**J-O-J-O-R-A**

…

…

…

…

…

**RED**

"Damn," muttered Jojora, shaking her head ever so slightly. Toad's mouth was agape and Noki displayed a stunned look on her face. Even Bootler looked flabbergasted at what had just happened : Jojora was the seventh victim of the Mole.

Monty Mole stood up from his chair and grabbed her bag. The ice fairy cast a final glance at the three remaining players. "Good luck," she mouthed, immediately following Monty Mole afterward. The final three looked at her until she disappeared.

"I can't believe she was eliminated," Noki confessed truthfully. "She always seemed to know what was going to happen in the game, I remember how I suspected her in the first stages of the game," she smiled, reminded of her own journey.

"Yeah," Toad admitted, "I remember how she noticed small things, like the fake execution of episode five... When you think about it, it's probably her analytic skills that propelled her this far in the game. She played a great game," he smiled.

Bootler nodded in agreement. "Even so, she had her own agenda." Toad and Noki were puzzled at his statement, so Bootler developed. "Her strategy was far too developed for a game like this, she lied many times and yet, you could never know when she was lying. She was a great actor, a great player and a great strategist. It is a shame tonight was her night," Bootler pointed out.

"At first, I didn't like her," Toad mentioned, rolling his eyes. "I mean, who the heck is aggressive with players they barely know at the very beginning of a game? Also, there are many things she did or said that I didn't agree with, but as the game went on, I guess we all realized that she was hiding behind a fake personality."

"Maybe we would have liked the 'true' Jojora," Noki mused. "But now that she's gone, we'll never know."

"And now that she is gone, only three of us remain. One of us will be the winner, another one will miss out on victory, and the last one..."

"Is the Mole," they all finished at the same time.

…

Monty Mole and the seventh victim of the Mole, Jojora, were walking towards Mystery Mansion, where Jojora's mean of transportation was awaiting her for a while now. Monty Mole glanced suspiciously at Jojora.

"I'm surprised you didn't yell or anything," the host started.

Jojora rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Because that would've been real mature, of course. Besides, I don't know why I would yell at them, they either scored higher than me on the quiz, or were faster, or they were the Mole. It's my own fault that I'm standing next to you tonight."

"If that makes you feel better, I was surprised that you were eliminated tonight!" chuckled the host. "I really thought you'd win the game since you were one of the rare players who paid attention to every little detail."

"I'm flattered," Jojora smirked. "Well, I won't say that I'm not disappointed. I've known the truth for quite some time now and I kind of suspect that I was the first one on the Mole's trail. I mean, none of the others seemed to know who the Mole was when I announced to them that _I_ knew back during episode six. Makes me wonder how they figured out the truth with so little time left."

From afar, the host and the ice fairy could see the deep blue car that Toad had used to reach Horror Land. Jojora frowned.

"I kind of hoped I'd ride in something a little more...exciting, oh well."

Monty Mole laughed. "Jojora, what will you remember about the game?"

She smiled. "Well, mostly how I fooled some people into believing that I was the Mole. Seriously, I think that was my greatest achievement. The games were also very exciting, which is why I'm sort of bummed that I won't be able to play in the last episode of the game. Well, there's also the fact that I won't be able to win the money."

"Your favorite game?" questioned the host.

Jojora thought hard about his question. "The artistic one. Even though it was an epic fail in the end," she added in an afterthought.

The host and the recently fallen player reached the car. Jojora shook Monty Mole's hand and grinned. "See you at the reunion show!" With that, she put her bag into the car and sat down on the passenger seat. She buckled her seat-belt and grabbed her journal, scribbling down her final thoughts.

Monty Mole watched the car as it finally became nothing but a speck on the horizon and turned back to the camera. "This is it everyone, with episode seven out of the way, the final three has been decided. They only have a few more days and three challenges to make their decision and hopefully be winner of possibly more than two hundred thousand coins. However, only two of them have to worry about the last and final quiz, the last one being the Mole, making the most of their holidays..."

The camera turned to the last three players.

"Who..."

A shot of Toad being brought to a house by Monty Mole could be seen.

"Is..."

A shot of Noki taking out a book from a shelf made its way onto the screen.

"The..."

A shot of Bootler looking intently at an unfolded map was displayed.

"Mole?"

A shot of a blurred figure jumping out of a warp pipe in a room occupied by the fallen players and Monty Mole ended the episode.

* * *

_So there you are... Jojora finally leaves the ga- *hides behind a sofa as various projectiles fly by*_

_Okay, okay, I can explain. _

_Jojora was indeed my favorite player, and I actually wanted her to win the whole game. That was what I planned at the beginning of the story. _

_So why did I eliminate her, you ask? Well, as I told you in previous chapters, my stories are never set in stones. If I see that many people liked a player, then I'll most likely let them win. If however, the readers say in their review that they didn't like a character, I will, most of the time, eliminate them. That's what happened to poor Jojora. ^^'_

_So, you'll tell me, "wtf Toady, we're at least three people who support Jojora!"_

_The problem is that I decided to eliminate her when Mario went home, and at that time, no one was rooting for her. I think Charz rooted for her once whe reached Mario's Castle and still, that was only one person against five-six who thought she should be eliminated._

_Additionally, she only received one vote at the previous poll, so that didn't help her reach the final. Hopefully, you won't be super mad at me for executing your favorite character. ^^' And yes, I know it's cliché to eliminate the villain before the final, but really, that wasn't my goal at the beginning._

Now, I suppose I should give you the results of the poll :

Who is the Mole, Episode 7 :

Six persons voted on the poll.

Mario got one vote, but he was already eliminated so it doesn't really count.

Tied with one vote are Noki, Toad and Jojora (20%).

So **Bootler**, with two votes, is most likely to be the Mole (40%).

Well, the results aren't really indicative because there were only five votes and nobody got a clear majority. However, they also mean that everyone could still be the Mole! ^^

Well that's all everyone!

PS : The shots at the end of the chapter should help you know what the last three challenges will be. ^^


	28. New Perspectives

**PrincessRosalinaFanboy** : Thank you for your review, and I'm glad you still have a favorite in spite of Jojora's disappearance. She was indeed a good player. You kind of predicted correctly that they would have to read the first letter of each though, so that's really great. I would have most likely thrown a tantrum, trying to decipher the words. XD Yeah, Honey Queen = Lol. Seriously. And apparently, the last character of Mario Party 9 is Kamek. Oh well, at least it's not some stupid new character. ^^' On the subject of Mario Party 9, do you think I should include one of its location in this story? And true, Boom Boom is better than Metal Mario.

**Charz** : Lol, I liked the cowboys from TAR, they were funny, I didn't like their elimination. I also like reading your suspicions, and you could influence the way this story will end, just vote on the poll for your favorite, I'll take the results into consideration. ^^ Thank you for your review and I like your list. I'm kind of glad you're so conflicted *shot*, it means the Mole is hidden but still suspicious. :p Hopefully you'll like this chapter! ^^

* * *

Previously on the Mole, Bootler, Jojora and Noki struggled to understand the cryptic clues littered all over the floor of Mystery Mansion while Toad waited outside for directions before engaging searches. With the combined effort of Jojora, who was the one who found most of the clues, Noki and Bootler, who gave orders to Toad and elucidated the mysteries of the clues, the mushroom was able to retrieve three out of five objects and brought them back to Mystery Mansion under the time limit. However, once he reached the mansion, he was stopped by none other than Boonty Ghoste, previous winner of The Mole : Tropical Treachery, who offered him an exemption at the cost of fifteen thousand coins. The player declined the offer and fifteen thousand coins were added to the team pot which was then worth one hundred ninety three thousand coins. The three remaining players and the conniving Mole later took their quiz, the final obstacle before the final. After everyone had taken the questionnaire, it was time to reveal the results of the quiz. This time around, Jojora left the group, victim of her own slowness, as Monty Mole told everyone that there was a tie. Now, only three of them remains. At the end of this episode, one of them will be crowned as the winner of this whole adventure, another will fall short of victory, while the last one will be uncovered as the Mole. But just which role will the three remaining players take? Find out shortly, in The Mole.

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

28 : New Perspectives

**Bootler** : The final episode of this game, things are finally drawing to an end. I am honestly glad to see that I am still in the competition, to tell the entire truth, I thought I would be executed in the first half of the game. However, as time went by, I showed everyone who I truly was, revealing my abilities and skills in the process. Haha, it would seem like I was wrong! I cannot express how joyful I am to be one of the last three players of this game.

**Noki** : The last episode! I'm so happy to still be here with Toad and Bootler! I must admit that it was a bumpy ride, I lost some great friends and allies along the way but still, I made it by my own means. I was very stressed last episode, I really thought that night would be my night – thankfully I was wrong. Well, we'll soon play our final games, so let's play to the best of our abilities, shall we?

**Toad** : Yeah! I'm so pumped for the final! This is it everyone, the final episode, we'll soon see who will win the money! And I'd like that person to be me, of course! Yesterday, I was so glad to see that green light after my name had been entered, although Jojora's execution greatly surprised me, seeing that she was sure of herself and everything. Anyway, that's not the point. What I mean is that I do intend to get another final green light and be the winner of this game. Game on, everyone!

The last three remaining contestants, Bootler, Noki and Toad, were all following Monty Mole, moving on a paved road toward a secret location. The host had reassured them, they would not compete in a new challenge so soon, so the players were at ease. Ambling in the shadow to protect themselves from the glaring sun, the players reached their destination which was still in Pipetown. It was a small traditional tavern, mostly furnished with wood decorations, giving a rustic feeling to the building. A little disappointed, they entered through the door that Monty Mole held open for them.

"So, hmm, what are we doing here?" questioned Toad. The other two were slightly puzzled as well : if there was no challenge, why bother going to this place?

Monty Mole cleared his throat and closed the door. He waddled his way toward the center of the room and faced them. "Bootler, Noki, Toad. You are the final three of this game. At the beginning, there were ten of you, ten players striving for victory. And now, only you three survived. The Mole left nothing behind their path as the game progressed. Nothing? No, this isn't correct. Two of you were spared, for they knew more about the Mole than everyone else. This final episode will help determine who knows the most about the Mole, I hope you're all ready," he wished, taking a close look at the last three players.

"I think we all are," Noki smiled, pleased by the host's encouragements. Bootler nodded.

"Why yes! We are all prepared to claim victory," he chuckled to himself.

The host took advantage of Bootler's sentence and picked up on it. "Alas, one of you isn't who they seem to be." The others smiled at each other, knowing full well that Monty Mole would throw some witty comments.

"Though being old has it perks, especially when it comes to knowledge and level-headedness, it has also its disadvantages. When you grow old, your physical abilities begin to wane and before you can realize it, ordinary tasks become insurmountable chores. You try hard but eventually fail because your own body failed you." Bootler cast a glance at the host, wondering if the mole's statement had something to do with him. "Of course, in a game like this one, it would be great asset for the Mole who wouldn't have to feign anything and could sabotage the missions, blaming it on their age." Bootler smiled to himself, shaking his head slightly.

The host continued, turning his head slightly so he could see Noki. "Or the Mole could use their shyness to lure their opponents away from the truth." Noki put a hand to her mouth, not expecting the host to make such a blunt statement. "A shy and innocent soul on the outside, a devious mastermind on the inside. The Mole could definitely use their personality as an excuse to sabotage the challenges and rely on their intelligence to justify their actions, easily leading astray the genuine players who were on their track." Noki did not know what to do, she opted for a small nod.

"And finally," he went on, his eyes falling on Toad, "could the Mole be using the disguise of a funny and friendly gardener, deceiving those who dare befriend them? The easiest way for the Mole to get rid of their enemies in such a game would be to make them erase from their mind the possibility that you are the Mole. And what better way to do that than to be nice to everyone and show that you're always doing your best, while you're in fact the fiend who throws a spanner in everyone's works?" Toad grinned, shrugging at the same time.

"Everyone here has the potential to be the Mole, but only one of you is. Question is : who?" Monty Mole winked. "Anyway, you were brought here because we're going to interview you. Don't worry, it won't be anything too personal, it's just a tradition if you know what I mean."

"What does he mean?" Noki asked Toad, who was the only one who had watched the show before.

"In the two previous seasons, the players were asked five questions during the final episode. I guess he's talking about that," responded the mushroom, glancing at Monty Mole to know whether he was right or wrong. Monty Mole kept a straight face.

"No need to think about it, we will probably understand in soon time," Bootler advised, earning a nod from Monty Mole.

"Exactly, now, if you would be so kind as to follow me... We'll begin the interviews shortly." The host turned on his heels and led the players to individual rooms, where they sat before cameras.

_Question 1 : Are you the Mole? (Say yes and explain why)_

**Bootler** : I have the qualities of a good Mole. As a Boo, I am used to cause mischief and I am trained to be stealthy. My natural ability to remain stony and my mysterious character would allow me a small margin of error, which is good for a Mole, since they are not above making a slip of the tongue, especially when they are confronted directly about that subject. I am also old, thus, the others should be more forgiving if I were to lose a challenge.

**Noki** : I could be the Mole. The Mole would want to stay in the background and that's what I've been doing this entire time. I'm not as outstanding as Birdo, Jojora, Mario or Donkey so you quickly forget about me, but that's your mistake, because like a good Mole, I strike when you expect the least. Besides, I'm not really strong, so I can obviously use that as a pretext to stall for time during physical challenges.

**Toad** : Contrarily to Bootler and Noki, I'm not incredibly smart, which would obviously be good if I were the Mole. Think about it, if you're physically weak, you can screw up the physical challenges, right? Then, if you're mentally weak, you can screw up the mental challenges. And so far, we've had more mental challenges than physical ones. Besides, when you're friendly to everyone, they tend to dismiss your sabotages as mistakes. That would be the perfect cover if I were the Mole.

_Question 2 : Are you the Mole? (Say no and explain why)_

**Bootler** : I am not the Mole because so far, I have not sabotaged at all. I always help the team whenever that is possible and I always think twice before doing anything, something that the Mole would most likely hate to do, as it would decrease their chances to sabotage. Compared to the other two, I have not had so many suspicious moments and I did not remove a large sum of money from the team pot, which is why I am not the Mole.

**Noki** : I'm not the Mole because the team depends on me, most of the time, and the players know better than to depend on the Mole. I helped the team countless times and I was the reason why we won quite a few challenges. Of course, I'm far from perfect and that's exactly why I make mistakes from time to time, but everyone makes mistakes, so you can't blame me for that. Additionally, I'm too weak to be the Mole. I mean, who wouldn't suspect the weakest player of faking it? In my mind, the producers chose someone who wouldn't be seen as the saboteur.

**Toad** : Well, I'm not the Mole because otherwise, I would have done a terrible job. I mean, come on, the only time I made the team lose money was when Bootler and I were playing against the others to win exemptions. When you look back at what has happened since the very beginning of our game, you'll see that I never was the reason why we lost money. Let's take an example : it wasn't my fault if Mario thought I had stolen the jewel from Holly Koopa. Birdo and Noki manipulated his mind so that he would choose me in the end.

_Question 3 : What will the Mole do during the final episode?_

**Bootler** : Well, it is rather hard to say, in view of the fact that I am not the Mole. I do think that the Mole will strike, albeit less glaringly than before. They should sabotage, however, I believe they will do it in a way that will make them less suspicious, at least in their eyes. Evidently, they will put as much doubt into our minds as they can, that is their job, after all.

**Noki** : Hmm... That's a good question, but I don't have any answer. The Mole is an individual, like you and me, they are unpredictable and don't follow some sort of pattern. I'm sure that the Mole sabotaged plenty of things and I didn't realize what they truly did. Even now, I'm wondering how they made us lose some challenges. If I were the Mole, I would like to win the final challenge.

**Toad** : Kind of hard to answer such a question. I'm not sure... To me it seems obvious that the Mole will sabotage, I mean, it's their job, right? But then again, now that there's only the three of us, their possibilities have greatly decreased. It's easier to make us lose when there are ten people, because you can always use them as a shield. With three people, you have to be more subtle.

_Question 4 : What will you do once the game is finished?_

**Bootler** : Obviously, I will return to Boo Mansion to serve Milady to the best of my ability. Even if I were to win the money, I would still go back to her side, that is my place. My ancestors were already butlers of the royal family, it is my duty to perpetuate this tradition.

**Noki** : Winning the money would change a lot for me, but I don't think I'd stop working. I like my job, I like traveling and I like meeting new people, even though I'm kind of uncomfortable around them at first. I think I will take a week off and then I'll go back to Delfino Airlines.

**Toad** : Peach needs me at her castle, I'm her favorite gardener as well as her close friend, so no, I won't stop working even if I win the money, even though I wouldn't mind having my own garden. Who knows, maybe I'll even ask Jojora for tips to 'sculpt' the trees and everything.

_Question 5 : What would you do with the money if you won the game?_

**Bootler** : That is indeed a very good question. The thought of winning so much money never crossed my mind so I do not have any definite answer to this question. I could do a great many things, such as renovating our mansion, and I would definitely give some to charity, just like the others I think. Maybe I would organize a party, with Lady Bow's approval.

**Noki** : There's so much I could do with the money! I could finally buy my own house because, yes, I don't have a house yet. I just have a small apartment. But it's kind of understandable since I travel so much : I don't often sleep at the same place, if you know what I mean. I would also invite the other players to Isle Delfino, I'm sure they would all gladly accept.

**Toad** : What would I do? Party! Yup, I'd organize my own party which would logically be called Toad Party. I would send invitations to the other players and also Monty Mole, as well as my usual friends. I would also keep some money for myself and give the rest to an association. Like Doctor Toadley's, so that he could help the sick and helpless.

…

Monty Mole and the players had gone back to their hotel once the interviews were finished and were currently eating before going to the place of their first challenge of that episode. The players were wondering whether their interviews would have an impact on the way the final challenges would be played.

"Hmm, Monty, I hope you don't mind me asking," started Noki, somewhat nervous, "but are the interviews important for our next challenges? It's weird that you would do random interviews like those," she finished, putting a small piece of watermelon in her mouth.

Monty Mole chuckled, not bothering to answer right away. "Why do you assume that they'll be important?"

"I could answer that. First of all, everything has a purpose in this game. During the previous episode, you asked us who we wanted to see with us in the final episode, and the most common answer actually had a specific role in the next challenge as well as the possibility to win an exemption. Nothing is left to chance in this game," Bootler replied, wiping his mouth with his handkerchief. The host seemed amused.

"Did you already forget? I recall asking you who you wanted out of the game back during episode two. It had no purpose," he smiled slyly.

"Yeah, I kind of doubt it's going to be relevant," Toad agreed. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep our answers in mind, I think they could use what we said in the final quiz."

**Noki** : I've never looked at it that way, but Toad is the last remaining contestant who has seen the previous seasons of the game, which would put him at an advantage. Especially if some of the challenges we'll play were already seen in the other seasons. It didn't seem odd before, because Kooper was part of the crew of this game show and Jojora had also seen the previous seasons, but now that they are gone... It's just a small suspicion though.

"How many missions do you have in store for us?" questioned Bootler. Noki raised an eyebrow.

"We've never had more than two missions in one episode," she reminded him. "Well, if you don't count the mini-missions, that is. I doubt it will be different."

Toad shook his head. "You never know. This is The Mole."

Monty Mole looked puzzled. "Why would you want to know how many missions you have left?"

"I am a bit apprehensive, I must say. Furthermore, I would like to know how much time we have left before the final quiz," Bootler replied, his full attention on the host.

"Well, no need for you to worry. Anyway, our next challenge will take place as soon as you have finished your lunch. Not that I'm urging you to finish your meal," Monty Mole added in an afterthought.

**Toad** : It's kind of hypocritical of him, he knows that we're going to hurry if he announces that another challenge will take place soon.

Needless to say, the players began to swallow their food as fast as possible. Monty Mole could not help but laugh at their enthusiasm.

…

Once again, the little group of four made its way toward the numerous gates of Pipetown. There, Monty Mole headed toward Gate Seven, the others quickly following his lead. They entered through the gigantic door and followed the host. He turned to face them.

"You won't have to wear costumes! This is an episode without costume, I bet you're all relieved, aren't you?" grinned the host.

Toad made the victory sign. "I'm so glad! You have no idea how annoying most of those were!" Noki and Bootler both nodded, showing their agreement.

"Well then, let's go!"

Monty and the players jumped inside one warp pipe and found themselves in a magnificent and aquatic city : Grand Canal. They landed on a smooth surface, between two fountains and watched their surroundings. The place, often swarming with tourists, was active yet there were not so many people. The players saw many gondolas on the canal, many of them occupied by couples and their gondolier. Far away, they could see the Colosseum inhabited by a giant Blooper, as well as the Tower of Pizza, which leaned a bit to the side.

"Water as far as the eye can see," murmured Bootler, captivated by the sheer sight of the town. "You kept the best locations for the end of the game, did you not?" he questioned, turning to face Monty Mole who had an enigmatic look on his face.

"Well, not really," shrugged the host. "Feel free to think so, however."

"What's our challenge, then?" inquired Toad, eager to start the mission. The others did not say it, but they were particularly impatient too. "I hope it doesn't involve rowing," he shuddered at the thought.

Monty Mole laughed with glee. "Haha! No, don't worry, it isn't a physical challenge, you three don't have to worry at all." He paused for a moment, looking in the distance.

**Bootler** : I was relieved to know that our next challenge did not involve strength in the slightest. Looking at our group, I could tell that physical challenges would be our loss. Well, Toad is somewhat strong, but Noki and I are not.

Noki sat on the edge of a fountain, quickly followed by Toad and Bootler. "So...? Our next challenge is...?"

"Oh right! Sorry about that!" the host apologized, snapping out of his trance. "Well, this game is called the 'Three Questions Challenge', and, as you might understand, it deals with questions. One after another, I will call you and ask you three questions. Depending on your answers, you will end up at different locations."

"Doesn't seem too hard," Toad pointed out. Bootler nodded.

"Why, it would seem like we will make quite a bit of money!" Bootler rejoiced, clapping his hands together.

Monty Mole frowned. "Well, you could. But then again, maybe you won't. For each question, you will have two choices of response, these two choices being the names of your teammates," he carried on, smiling at the confusion of the players.

"What?" Bootler was baffled, and so were the others. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let's take an example, shall we? If I were to ask Mario who he thinks the Mole is and that his two teammates were Kooper and Pauline, he would only be able to reply Kooper or Pauline. Did you understand?"

Noki smiled nervously. "I think we understood..."

"Now, there's more to the rules. Following my previous example, once Mario answers the three questions, his two teammates – in this case, Pauline and Kooper – would have to answer them too, trying to make the same choices Mario did. The key to win this challenge is to have an analytical mind, or at least, to put yourselves in the position of the person who first answered the questions. And by now, you should be able to do so, since you've been with each other for so long," explained the host in one go.

"Well, we are not psychics but we might as well give it a try," Bootler rationalized.

"You will win ten thousand coins for each teammate that you manage to reach, however, to reach them you have to give a correct answer to all three questions they were asked!" Monty Mole added. "One wrong move and ten thousand coins go down the drain."

**Noki** : Starting this challenge, I knew that there would be sabotage. A Mole was in our group, there would definitely be suspicious answers.

"Anyone would like to go first?" asked Monty Mole. When he saw that the others three were glancing at each other, uncertain, he decided to call someone. "Well, we'll start with you, Bootler. Please follow me," he demanded gently.

"Fine by me," replied the ghost, floating his way toward Monty Mole. Noki and Toad saw them hopping on a small bridge made of planks of wood, but as they made a turn, they disappeared from the two confused players' view, heading deep into town.

"Well, I guess we'll have to guess," tried Toad uneasily.

"It shouldn't be that hard to answer three different questions from Bootler's point of view. We _are_ different."

…

Monty Mole came back after a while and motioned for the two players to follow him. They walked over the bridge and made a right, jumping on gondolas to reach the other side of the street. Monty Mole suddenly stopped in front of a counter where a Koopa was, waving her hand at them. They smiled politely in reply.

"Well, here comes your first choice," Monty Mole smirked, taking out a green card from his pocket.

"I have a bad feeling," whispered Noki to Toad, looking concerned.

"First question Bootler was asked is : 'Both of your teammates are going to get married, who would be more likely not to show up at their wedding ceremony'? If you think Bootler replied Noki, we'll go left. If you think he replied Toad, we'll go right."

Both Noki and Toad frowned, unamused at this question. "Come on Monty, stop joking, what's the true question?" inquired the mushroom. The host stayed at his place, unwavering.

**Toad** : I didn't like this game, it was obviously created so we would turn on each other or something like that. The question were really wicked and we were _forced_ to answer them.

"I suppose that's really the question," Noki assumed, hesitant. "What should we do?"

"Answer it," Toad replied nonchalantly. "Bootler had to make a choice, after all."

"Yes, but what do we do, then?" Noki insisted.

"Huh?" Toad did not get what she meant.

"What I was trying to say is that we both know that we would never do that," she clarified. "So we don't have an exact answer."

"The question is : 'Who is more likely to blah blah blah'," Toad declared, not bothering to finish his sentence. "So, in my opinion, we need to find who Bootler thinks has more chances not to show up at their wedding ceremony."

"Yes, I know that!"

"I'm sure Bootler was as conflicted as we currently are," Toad declared. "But he had to answer too and knowing him, he answered in a logical way... I hope."

"But Toad, there's no way we're going to find a logical way to answer a question like that," she noted. "Besides, what would be his logic? Actually, what do you think is his answer?" Noki narrowed her eyes.

Toad started to sweat a little. "You won't like the answer, but I think he would actually pick you." Noki opened her mouth, as if she was going to object, but Toad continued his explanation. "I think he would pick you because I actually have a girlfriend while you don't. I mean, you don't have a boyfriend. Or do you?"

Noki instantly blushed. "Well, I don't have a boyfriend, but I have designs on somebody..."

"Oh really?" Toad grinned. "But you know, Bootler doesn't know that, which is why I think we should go left."

Noki shook her head. "Well, if you're going with logic, males are scared of marriage whereas females tend not to be."

**Toad** : As the discussion progressed, I knew that there was no way Noki would agree with me. It was useless to debate, she didn't want to answer herself. Not considering other thoughts is suspicious in a mission like this. Or maybe it was her pride. Or maybe she didn't trust me. There are so much reasons for which she wouldn't want to say 'Fine, we'll go with me.'.

"Well, if you really want, we could go with me," Toad resigned himself. He turned to face Monty Mole. "We think that Bootler answered Toad, and as a consequence, we'll go right."

Noki smiled. "Thanks Toad."

**Noki** : This question hurt me. I know it's a game and that we aren't supposed to take it seriously, but sometimes it gets under your skin and you can't help but feel unnerved.

"Okay, then follow me!" Monty Mole ordered, jumping on a round platform which ordinarily served as an attraction. They made their way to the end of the platform and jumped on the paved road. After that, they walked a short distance and stopped in front of a shop. On their right was a row of houses, with a ladder allowing everyone to climb up the roof. On their right was a gray bascule bridge leading to the Colosseum.

"I don't see our starting point from here, maybe we're on the right track," Toad reassured himself.

"Hopefully," smiled Noki.

"It's time to answer the second question," Monty Mole claimed, taking out yet another card from his coat's pocket. "Second question is," Monty Mole interrupted suddenly, laughing out loud. "Excuse me, it's just... Well, see for yourselves. 'Imagine Toad and Noki met someone, who would be more likely to make love with them on the first night after their meeting'? If you think Bootler replied Noki, we'll go left. If you think he replied Toad, we'll go right."

Toad and Noki looked at him, mouth agape. They were without a doubt shocked.

"I think he went for you," Toad tried, hesitantly.

"Is that your way to call me a whore?" Noki huffed, evidently offended after Toad's tactless remark.

Toad waved his hands in front of him frantically. "No no no!" he yelled in panic. "Please, you know I would never call you that."

Noki calmed herself a bit. "I'm sorry, I guess I just snapped. Those questions are so offensive, I know you don't think of me that way Toad. I just overreacted," she apologized. "I really hate this game."

"So do I," whispered Toad. "I just thought he would answer you because you have no one yet, thus you wouldn't have done anything wrong. I mean, toward your lover."

Noki nodded. "I see your point, and it's true that I have no one...yet. Additionally, some women are known as frivolous, but... Speaking of generalities, women take their time to approach someone. When I was younger, I had male friends - I still do - who were basically bragging about their conquests..."

Toad was pensive. "Well, I see your point. I suppose one night stands are more common for men than for women..." He crossed his arms. "I mean, we both presented good points, and it's just a name after all, it doesn't mean that we're like that in any case. Those questions are definitely stupid anyway." He smiled at Noki. "This whole game is stupid, come to think of it. Let's just choose a name and be done with it. If you don't want to say Noki, let's just say Toad. There's no good answer."

"Thanks Toad," Noki said truthfully, hugging him.

"Well, what can I say? We're friends!" he grinned. "Monty, we're going to answer Toad!"

"Are you sure?" the host questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"We don't have much too lose."

"Except for ten thousand coins, that is," retorted the host smartly. "But it's your choice, we'll go right! Please follow me!"

**Toad** : Hey Toadette! Just wanted to say that I'm _not_ like that!

**Noki** : I was glad Toad decided to go with himself, I just couldn't bring myself to believe that Bootler would actually answer me.

The adventurers climbed up the ladder and took a look at their surroundings from above, gasping at the view which was offered to them. They soon regained their spirits and sprinted after Monty Mole who was waiting for them at the other end. From there, they made a left and crossed another small bridge. They jumped near a tree, with Monty and Toad helping Noki, and went round it, facing two houses, one pink and another light yellow.

"Here we are, your final destination!" announced Monty Mole. "The last question Bootler was asked is : 'If a natural disaster was to happen, who would rather run away and save their own life instead of trying to save someone's life'? As always, left is for Noki, right is for Toad. What will your choice be?"

"I don't know," Noki attempted, more hesitant than ever.

"Me neither. I think the answer would be you, though..."

"Again?" she joked.

"Well, I'm not calling you a coward or anything, but I'm twisting the question a little so it will be easier to answer," he told her, his eyes closed. "Answer this : who would be able to help and save people in time of natural disaster?"

Noki closed her eyes. "It's true, you're right. I'm too weak to carry anyone, except for small children maybe. You, on the other hand, could easily help."

"Yeah, I might not seem like it, but I'm pretty strong. Almost as strong as Mario, actually!" Toad informed.

"Easy choice then!" Noki cheered. "So Monty, do we open the door ourselves?"

"Indeed," replied the host, making a movement toward the buildings.

Noki and Toad made their way to the pink house and knocked on the door. They waited a moment before hearing footsteps. The door opened.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" asked a Shy Guy local.

"Is Bootler here?" asked Noki.

"Bootler? If he's a friend of yours, I'm afraid you knocked on the wrong door."

"Oh well. Thanks for your time and have a nice day!" Toad told him. The Shy Guy nodded and closed the door, leaving the players with Monty Mole.

"I'm afraid you were wrong. Let's go back to where we first started," decided the host.

…

The players had already reached the starting point of the mission when Bootler finally could be seen from afar. He slowly floated in their direction, knowing that their first round was already lost. He sat on the edge of the fountain, visibly exhausted.

"Oh, I do not like the sun that much," he complained, which was a rare occurrence for him.

"Players, you have failed your first round, but you still have two more. Let's review your answers and compare them to Bootler's, shall we? Bootler, the first question you were asked was : 'Both of your teammates are going to get married, who would be more likely not to show up at their wedding ceremony?'"

"I replied Noki. Not that I believe that she is a coward, but because Toad and Toadette are in a relationship. As far as I recall, their story started a few years ago. Now, compared to him and his relative secure relationship, there was Noki, who is single as far as I am aware," Bootler explained, his mustache twitching.

**Toad** : Bootler's explanation was exactly what I told Noki, I can't blame him for our failure.

"We thought you'd go by genders. You know, females knowing what they want and males being indecisive," Toad summed up, making small gestures with his hands. Bootler raised an eyebrow but he did not comment.

"The second question was : Imagine Toad and Noki met someone, who would be more likely to make love with them on the first night after their meeting?'" Monty reminded them.

"For this one, I followed the same logic I had before. Now, I was not particularly happy when Monty asked me this question, however I had to give him an answer. I hope you are not offended, but I chose you, Noki, for you have less restrictions than Toad since you are not seeing anyone," Bootler justified smartly, once again.

"Wow," Toad could not help but utter as he frowned.

"I'm sorry, it seems like you were right, Toad," Noki apologized.

"Well, it's okay. I mean, you had a point when you said that men cheated more on their wives than the contrary."

**Bootler** : From what I could tell, Noki was the one who begged Toad not to choose her on those questions. I have no doubt that she told him believable explanations so that he would change his mind, but because of her we lost ten thousand coins.

"And, last but not least, Bootler was asked this question : 'If a natural disaster was to happen, who would rather run away and save their own life instead of trying to save someone's life?'"

"For this one, I decided to pick Toad. I knew that, in this case and in reality, they would try to save people because they are two altruistic persons and I commend them for that. However, personality-wise, I believed that Noki's resolve would be much stronger than Toad's. I think she has much more willpower than Toad, which is why I decided to answer Toad."

Noki and Toad gave a forced laugh. "Well, it looks like we didn't even manage to get one answer right," Toad shrugged.

"And to think it was the sole question for which we thought alike," Noki trailed off.

"Why did you pick Noki?" inquired the old butler, raising an eyebrow.

"It's easy. Willpower alone wouldn't allow her to carry injured people, she would need strength and she doesn't have that. It's because of this that we decided you would have chosen her. I mean, it would be pointless for her to stay in a dangerous zone doing nothing," the mushroom explicated.

**Noki** : Even if we had decided to go with Toad's first guess for the first two questions, we would have lost this round. Bootler's last choice was very questionable, but then again, it was Toad who tried to interpret it and made us choose the wrong answer in the end.

"And now, it's Noki's turn to partake in this funny game!" Monty Mole announced as the players laughed and rolled their eyes at the same time, annoyed by the host's attitude.

* * *

_Once again, the players failed epically!_

_I loved writing this chapter, with the controversial questions/answers, it was really fun. Just goes to show that even the simplest things can be really good. Besides, some questions are totally rude, it makes me regret not having Jojora in the final, she would be so much fun to write about! *shot*_

_I put a new poll on my profile. Once again, I put all ten players, just so people won't be spoiled if they happened to be curious enough to click on it without having read this far. Obviously, only the votes toward our final three count. There's not much I can do for the already executed players. ^^_

_There might be more than four chapters for this final part. Key word is 'might', though. *shot* As well as a picture clue, though I'm still wondering what to do exactly. The Mole's dossier would be neat..._

_Once again, credit goes to Krisetchers for the interviews, it was his idea first. ^^_

_Until next time! ^^_


	29. Constant Interrogations

**Krisetchers** : Thank you for your review! And yes Mario's Rainbow Castle is just magical. Above the clouds, with the best soundtrack of Mario Party 1 and everything. It would be my favorite adventure board if Bowser didn't steal 40 coins from you each time you passed before him.

**Krisetchers (2)** : I'm glad you were fooled, lol! I mean, it's really cool when we find out who the Mole is before they are revealed, but it's even better to be fooled, because then you're telling yourself : 'The Mole got me good.'. As for the Donkey and Birdo, it was more random than anything, but I knew it would confuse people so I let it. XD

**Krisetchers (3 & 4)** : Yeah, I knew I had to make a reference to that, I mean, the weird logic of the Marioverse makes it possible for Mario (and Luigi too) to get rid of Boo which are supposedly already dead, lol. And yes, MacBallyhoo as an art critic was a cameo. I made another one to your second story before, I think. But it wasn't that visible. Thanks for your reviews! ^^

**PrincessRosalinaFanboy** : Thank you for your review and thanks, it's really kind of you to say that. ^^ And no, Monty Mole would definitely be a good player, so I understand why you would like him! ^^ As for Noki, I can understand why you wouldn't like her attitude. I briefly alluded to the reason why she was so defensive in this chapter. And Kamek is cool as a character. I miss Birdo and Toadette though. And yes, Yellow Toad is... Well, hnestly I don't really care but they could have at least put BLUE Toad as a host. I mean, Blue is way better than Yellow. *gets lynched*

**PrincessRosalinaFanboy** **(2)** : I really don't mind multiple reviews, I sometimes do this too so yeah... XD Actually, it's not the Horse-drawn carriage challenge and I don't know what's the Library Game... I mean, the horse-drawn carriage challenge was cool, but I don't really want to be seen as a leech wo would take other people's idea all the time. I already took the 3 questions game, and I asked Krisetchers if I could do things like he did, so that would be too much if I was taking this challenge too. Thanks for your review!

**Shilo Burbans** : Thanks for your review! Sorry for Jojora, but people only started to like her when I had finally decided that she wouldn't win, so yeah. Plus, she wasn't as suspicious as the other three. Looking at the reviews, I realized that nobody thought she was the Mole, so that was another reason to eliminate her. Though I'm glad you liked her too. ^^ I see that you're suspecting Noki the most, lol. I actually found a lot of clues pointing toward the Mole's identity in Kris' second story, but I kept on ignoring them. Or I would suspect the Mole for one chapter and change my mind all of a sudden. XD I see what you mean about innocence in this game, but the three remaining players all know who is the Mole, so they all have a shot at winning (except for the Mole). I liked Birdo too to be honest, but I knew she wouldn't get as far as I wanted her to go. In the initial draft, I think she was supposed to be executed before the sixth episode, but there were people that liked her so I kept her as long as I could. ^^ As for the next season, I'm also looking forward to it. Even if I don't know who will be the Mole (I have at least 7 candidates over 10, their personality offers many possibilities).

**Krisetchers (5)** : Yeah, as you said, Jojora was the 'villain'. She wasn't evil or bad, but she knew what she had to do in order to win the game. She wanted to make allies and not friends, though she kind of softened in the end. I'm glad you have an idea of the identity of the Mole, hopefully, you'll have guessed correctly! Thanks for your review!

**Shilo Burbans (2)** : Well, the last quiz is approaching rapidly, so you'll soon have your answers! ^^ Thanks for the review, by the way.

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the last three remaining players, Bootler, Noki and Toad were interviewed by the crew in a little building of Pipetown. After the three of them were finished with the interviews, they and Monty Mole returned to their own hotel to eat their usual meal. Shortly afterward, Monty Mole explained to the players that they were to partake in one of the final challenges, called the three questions game, at Grand Canal. Bootler was first to answer the three questions while Noki and Toad had to guess what was his responses. Noki and Toad did so, but they unfortunately did not manage to find Bootler who was hidden at the exact opposite of town, for they had completely failed the test. Once again, suspicions arose and another player was taken elsewhere, starting round two. Would the players even succeed in adding at least ten thousand coins to their team pot?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

29 : Constant Interrogations

"And now, it's Noki's turn to partake in this funny game!" Monty Mole announced as the players laughed and rolled their eyes at the same time, annoyed by the host's attitude.

Monty Mole motioned for Noki to follow him, and she happily complied, trying her best to keep up with the speedy host, leaving both Bootler and Toad alone. The two coalition partners watched them until they disappeared, this time choosing to head toward a street located even more at the left of the town. It was then that Bootler decided Toad and him should have a conversation.

"So, now that it is only the two of us, would you mind telling me in greater detail what exactly happened?" the old butler asked, his mustache twitching slightly. Toad kept staring at the distance.

"To be honest, the questions were hard. And Noki didn't make them any easier," he sighed heavily.

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought that you had picked her for the first two questions, because I have a loved one and she doesn't," Toad started as Bootler nodded, understanding clearly why Toad would think that. "But then, she got kind of angry I suppose, which was a bit out of character if you know what I mean. I guess I must have struck a sensible chord, because she suddenly told me that she didn't like the fact that I was calling her names." Bootler was about to open his mouth but Toad guessed what he would ask and responded in anticipation. "You know what the first two questions were, I don't think you need me to tell you what she said I implied."

"I see..."

"But to tell you the entire truth, I found it strange that we didn't even get one question right," Toad concluded.

**Toad** : Even I found it strange when it was revealed that Bootler had chosen Noki for the 'love' questions and me for the 'cowardice' one, even though I guessed correctly for the first two questions. It made absolutely no sense and I can't help but think that it could have been a sabotage on his part. But then again, maybe we really don't know each other's train of thought that much, or maybe we were just confused because it was the first time we had to answer offensive questions like those.

**Bootler** : When I was secluded from Noki and Toad, I could not hear their arguments, so clearly, I was obviously skeptical about what had truly happened. I knew that Toad would stay true to his words and stay loyal, that is for sure. However, he might have forgotten to mention something crucial unintentionally.

"I sure do hope that we will manage to answer Noki's questions correctly, although it might prove to be difficult, in view of the fact that we cannot use genders to determine what answer would be most likely the correct one," remarked the old Boo, patiently waiting for their host. He ran his hand into the clear water that was generated by the fountain, freshening himself.

"Yeah, especially when this strategy was a failure!" Toad laughed lightly, earning a smile from his friend.

…

At least a quarter of an hour after Monty Mole and Noki had departed, the former could be seen in the distance, jogging toward the waiting men. Surprisingly, Monty was not out of breath, which greatly impressed Bootler and even Toad, who would have never thought that the host could be so resourceful.

"Hello again, players!" the mole exclaimed cheerfully, staring at Bootler and Toad. "I sure hope you're ready for this, because round two starts about...now! Please follow me, we have to walk a short distance before arriving at our first junction," Monty directed gently, moving along the paved road. The players took that as their cue to start moving.

"I feel like I am melting," Bootler could not help but state. Toad glanced at him worriedly.

"We're not timed, we can rest if you're not feeling well," he proposed kindly. Monty Mole nodded behind him.

"Don't hesitate Bootler, we wouldn't want one of our finalist to miss on this grand finale, now, would we?"

"I am quite fine," Bootler reassured, fanning himself with his hand. "However, the weather is far too hot for my tastes. Let us go onward!" he shouted, suddenly regaining his vigor. Toad chuckled.

"You should have asked Lady Bow to lend you her fan when she was here, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded at all!" The group of three passed a shop which roof was a light blue. The three of them jumped on a medium-sized blue boat and escalated it to reach their first turn. Toad could see that near them was the place where he and Noki had been only moments ago.

"Oh no, he's preparing the questions of doom!" the mushroom yelled dramatically. Monty Mole smiled mysteriously, taking out a green card from his pocket. Bootler squinted his eyes to get a better look at it, but the host caught him.

"Caught in the act of cheating!" the host spoke loudly, giving a hard stare at the ghost. He waited a moment before laughing. "Just kidding, you wouldn't be able to cheat even if you wanted to."

**Toad** : Monty always likes to scare us and dramatize everything. He's a good host, alright, but sometimes I wish he weren't so mysterious. I mean, he's freaky sometimes.

"Well, I am ready for the question, so please ask it," Bootler demanded politely. Monty Mole nodded energetically.

"Very well. The first question Noki was asked was : 'Who would be more likely to hold a grudge over a petty, insignificant thing'? If you believe that Noki's answer was Bootler, we'll go straight ahead. However, if you think that Toad was her answer, we'll follow the path on our right. Your choice," Monty explained, once again.

"Oh my!" Bootler started, looking panicked for a second. He quickly regained his composure. "Well, I can tell that we will not have an easy time answering this question..."

Toad agreed, feeling a bit discontent. "I mean, come on! Why did Noki receive this question? We _don't_ hold grudges. It's stupid and childlike."

**Bootler** : Well, now I can understand why it was so difficult for Noki and Toad to answer the first round of questions. With absolutely no way to know which criteria I used to answer each question, they were mostly guessing. Yes, this was a guessing game, we could not be one hundred percent sure we were right.

"If only we had a way to succeed easily in this challenge," Bootler muttered, racking his brains. "I wonder if we could use logic to get around this problem?" he pondered aloud.

"Hey! That's it Bootler! Noki and I tried to use logic during the first round, so in my opinion, she thought that we would process like this and predicted that we would go with the most logical answer!" Toad pumped his fist in the air cheerfully.

Bootler chuckled. "It is an assumption. However, this is the only clue we possess as of now. Let us try to use 'logic', although I fail to understand how it will help us for this question."

"Easy!" replied Toad. "We only have two answers possible, you and I. I can see two possible scenarios. One, Noki believes you are far too old to hold a grudge against someone and thus, she answered me. Two, Noki believes that in your long life, it's been possible for you to hold a grudge against someone, and thus answered you."

Bootler shook his head strongly. "Wait, Toad. Do you not think that you are interpreting the question?"

Toad had a quizzical look on his face. "Well, yes? We can't use logic if we don't try to understand the questions better. At least I _think_ we can't..."

"You may be right, but you only base your reasoning on myself," Bootler pointed out. "There are two other possibilities. One, Noki thinks you are very forgiving in which case she would choose me. Two, Noki believes that you are not as forgiving as you let it seems, in which case she would choose you."

"So in the end, we have to find who she thinks is the most forgiving person between the two of us?" Toad asked, unsure.

Bootler nodded happily. "Yes. Also, I would personally think that she chose you for this question."

"Why?" Toad was puzzled. "I'm not a spiteful person."

"Oh, but I am far from saying that you are. Let me explain my case. Noki only knows you through this game, doesn't she?" Toad confirmed so Bootler carried on. "So far, in this game, I have been quite neutral and I have tried not to be involved in the fights that occurred. That and the fact that I have not been resentful at all are good reasons to believe that Noki has no reason to think I am more likely to hold grudges. Whereas you, Toad, have been in fights with Jojora. And you have also been vocal about the fact that you did not like the way she treated you."

"Alright, I see your point!" Toad grinned. "Let's go right, then!" he announced, leading the way.

**Toad** : Bootler is an extremely intelligent individual, he makes no mistake, he is the voice of reason, he is so smart that he can build very strong arguments with almost nothing, he has so many qualities that sometimes I wonder whether I'm falling in his trap... He once again showed that when it came to argumentation, he always had the upper hand. I have no doubt he's the one who deals the cards right now. Only thing to do is to hope I've the better hand...

Toad, Bootler and Monty Mole headed right and passed right where Noki and Toad had been a little earlier. They jumped onto the round platform which was usually swarming with Spiny and coins, and reached the other side of it, making their way toward the shop that had served as Noki's and Toad's second stop.

Monty Mole stopped in his tracks and turned toward the two male players, reaching for another green card. "Well, here you go, this is your second question. Earlier, Noki was asked this : 'Who would be more likely to take a peak at their female friends while they were bathing'? If you believe that Noki decided to go for Bootler, we'll cross the bridge. However, if you believe that Noki went with Toad, we'll go right. Feel free to think about this problem."

Bootler and Toad faced each other, uneasy. Evidently, neither one wanted to start the conversation. Finally, Bootler broke the silence. "Well, I believe we are both mature enough and respectable. As such, I also do believe that we would never do such a thing."

"I hate those questions," muttered Toad, frowning. He then tilted his head to the side. "Now, who did she choose? There's no way we're going to answer correctly."

"If you wish to hear my opinion, I would say that she chose you. People of my age tend not to do that. Besides, Noki would most likely think that an old Boo like me is far too respectable to look at his friends while they are bathing," he claimed, twirling his mustache around his fingers.

"Well, I don't know."

"But Toad, you have to realize that I am far too old for this," Bootler remarked.

Toad seemed to be thinking about the question. "As a Boo, you have far more possibilities than me to look at people while they wash. You could just turn invisible and nobody would find out what you did," noted the mushroom.

"Yes, that might be true, but the question is not : 'Who is more likely to look at their friend while they are bathing without getting caught?' Turning invisible has nothing to do with the question," Bootler pointed out smartly.

"Alright," Toad gave up, throwing his hands in the air. "Let's go with me, so right."

"Are you sure?" questioned the host, a sly smile on his lips.

"Sure, why not? I just hope she didn't put my name every time there was a negative answer," he replied.

Bootler stayed behind a little, shaking his head.

**Bootler** : I knew in my mind that Noki had obviously answered Toad for this one. It would have been immensely suspicious of her if she had not. So Toad's reluctance was puzzling me. Why would she think that I am more likely to do this because of my race? I am a Boo, not a voyeur.

The threesome decided to take the right path, jumping on the roof of two houses, before reaching the other side. "Well, this is certainly the most physical task we have ever been told to complete!" Bootler joked, panting.

"It doesn't compare to the 'Feet Versus Wheels' mission," Toad laughed. "_That one_ was pretty epic."

Monty Mole and the players turned left and walked on a wood bridge, the cameraman behind them attracting attention. People began to clap for them, thinking they were celebrities. The trio chuckled heartily and waved back. Suddenly, Toad started to head toward the two houses he and Noki had reached before, only to be stopped immediately by the host.

"Wait Toad, this isn't our stop," Monty Mole declared, directing them toward their real final destination which was not that far away.

"Huh? We have to take a gondola?" Toad asked in disbelief, looking at the empty craft moving slightly on the water's surface.

"Why, this could be amusing," Bootler considered, eyeing the small boat.

"For you, it will. Not sure about Toad, though", Monty Mole grinned mischievously. Toad glanced at him, puzzled. "You and I will be rowing," finished the host. Bootler could not help but laugh as Toad groaned.

They jumped on board and set out toward two new houses. The ride was very short and uneventful, so it took them only seven minutes to get to their destination. In front of them were a pink house and an orange one.

"Well, here's your last question!" exclaimed the host suddenly. "For her third question, Noki was asked this : 'If you were dying and had only one more day to live, who would you rather spend your last day with'? If you think that Noki replied Bootler, then, knock on the left door. If you think that she replied Toad, then knock on the right door."

"So basically, the answer's the one she prefers?" Toad assumed, casting a look at the two doors. Bootler shook his head.

"I do not think this question is about who she prefers," Bootler disagreed.

"Well, I don't know how else we could answer this question."

"It is confusing, indeed."

"We should go with me," Toad decided. "I mean, she already answered two bad things about me, so maybe she would want to choose me for this one. Besides, I'm younger and livelier than you... Like literally, sorry for the bad pun."

Bootler frowned. "But would she not want to be reassured about the afterlife? If that was the case, I would be the best choice."

"No offense, but you don't want to see dead people when you're about to die. That would be just plain depressing," Toad retorted. "I mean, every time she'd look at you, she'd be reminded of her own death. Not to mention, I don't really think you have the same topics of conversation."

"Mmmh, you do have a point," Bootler nodded, rubbing his chin. "Well, let us give it a try. In her case, I believe we would not want an old Boo to keep us company. Monty, we decide to open the right door."

"Be my guests!"

Toad and Bootler knocked on the orange's house door and waited for Noki to answer. "Hopefully she's here!" hoped Toad.

"Unfortunately, that is not the case," Monty Mole replied. "Let's go back to our starting point, Noki will be brought back by someone else."

…

The players and Monty Mole took a shorter route to return to their starting point. There, they waited for Noki to come back for at least ten minutes before they could catch a glimpse of her. The petite girl made her way toward them, a knowing smile on her face.

"Hey guys!" she greeted when she finally could be heard. "I suppose you messed up somewhere, right?"

"Yes," Bootler confirmed. "Although I cannot help but wonder which question we answered incorrectly."

Toad stood up, letting her take his place on the fountain. "Hopefully we were better this time around."

"As a matter of fact, you were!" Monty Mole told them, in a rare moment of sympathy. "We'll do like the previous time. I remind you of the questions that were asked and then the questioned player will say what they chose and you'll compare, alright?" he inquired rhetorically. "First question you were asked, Noki, was : 'Who would be more likely to hold a grudge over a petty, insignificant thing'?"

Noki gave a small nod to Monty Mole. "Okay, for this one, I initially decided to go with Toad because to me, Bootler is someone who doesn't attach much importance to fights, like he demonstrated before in the game."

Bootler glanced at Toad, smiling a little. The mushroom shrugged in reply.

Noki watched their exchange, confused, but shrug it off. "As I was saying, I first went with Toad, but then I remembered that Toad and I were previously answering our questions in a sensible way. Or at least, we tried. So I changed my answer to Bootler."

"But why?" the ghost stuttered. "Your first answer was perfectly sensible." Noki blushed, smiling apologetically.

"Well, you are a ghost. And as far as I recall, people become ghosts after they die, because there is something that prevents them from reaching the beyond. In most books and films where ghosts are involved, they usually can't get peace because of insignificant things that they couldn't sort out while they lived," Noki explained her choice, looking at Toad for support.

The mushroom intervened. "She's right, Bootler. That's how we portray ghosts."

Bootler furrowed his brow. "I am not a simple 'ghost'. I am a Boo. We are really different. A Boo is classified as a ghost, but he or she never died." Noki, Toad and Monty Mole looked at him with a bewildered look on their face. "You did not know? Ghosts are the reincarnation of dead people who are torn. They want to find peace, but cannot, as there is still something that binds them to the earth. Boo are a natural species. I was born a Boo."

"Oh, excuse me Bootler, I didn't know," Noki apologized sincerely.

Bootler waved his hands in front of him. "Oh, do not apologize. You could not have possibly known. It is basic knowledge for us, however I can understand why non-Boo would be confused."

**Toad** : Well, I think I said somewhere along those lines in my argumentation. Bootler completely ignored it, though. I mean, I don't want to blame him, but the facts are here. We lost a round because we made a wrong turn somewhere.

"We learn new things everyday!" chuckled the host. "Thank you for this bit of insight, Bootler. As you can see, you failed the first question so it would have been impossible for you to win the money at that point. Now, let's move on to the second question which was : 'Who would be more likely to take a peak at their female friends while they were bathing'?"

Noki giggled, clearly feeling embarrassed. "It was hard to answer this, but at the same time it wasn't. I just couldn't picture Bootler being some sort of stalker or pervert, so I chose you by default, Toad."

Toad smiled. "No problem, I mean- Hey! Wait a second! Do you mean that I could be a voyeur?" He asked, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

**Bootler** : Toad tried to twist the questions. He did not do it one time, nor did he do it two times, but three times! With every interpretation he made, he led us astray from the truth. This game is not difficult to sabotage, you only need to make one mistake and surprise, you lost it.

"And now, the last question. It was : 'If you were dying and had only one more day to live, who would you rather spend your last day with'? So Noki, who did you choose?"

"Bootler being a ghost, he would remind me of my impending demise. Besides, he's too old, I would only be able to either make small talk with him, or talk about serious subjects. Personally, I thought they would answer Toad right away, so I chose him," she smiled. "Thankfully, my questions weren't that insulting..."

Bootler cleared his throat and replied to her. "We had to consider the two options, so we did struggle before giving our answer. It was correct, however."

"Unfortunately, two out of three weren't enough, so you lost yet again another ten thousand coins!" Monty Mole interrupted them.

**Noki** : Bootler and Toad both made mistakes during this round. This mission was really hard, because you could only rely on your impulses, and you knew that the Mole would strike but even if they did, you had no idea how to prevent them from doing so. Because, one time they could say the truth, the other time twist it around a bit, and the next time give a wrong answer.

The three finalists all groaned. They knew that Monty Mole was right, they were not doing well : already twenty thousand coins had gone down the drain and the last episode had just started. Worst of all, they knew that everyone had made a mistake, yet there was only one Mole.

"With that said, it's time for our last player to be questioned! Toad, you're up," Monty Mole declared, pointing at the mushroom. The player waved to his two friends and followed Monty Mole, this time going to the right side of the town. Noki and Bootler looked at them until they could not see them anymore, then turned toward each other.

"Do you think we'll win the coins?" Noki inquired.

Bootler pondered for a moment, rubbing his temples. "We were close during the second round, I think we should be able to guess the last round correctly. This time around, let us be careful. If we do not take things personally, I have no doubt that we could win."

"Yes, you might be right," Noki trailed off, glancing at the place where Toad and Monty Mole had disappeared from her view.

…

Noki and Bootler could see Monty Mole running toward them from afar. The two calm contestants stood up and decided to walked toward him, closing the gap between them. Strangely, Monty Mole was still not out of breath when he reached them. Scanning the two players, he nodded. "You both know how this game is played, so I won't waste time telling you what to do. Please follow me!" he demanded.

The Boo and the Noki obliged and strolled besides Monty Mole. "So, how do you think you will do?" the host asked, breaking the silence.

Bootler shrugged. "We are hoping we will be able to earn the last ten thousand coins, however, we will not know that for sure until the three questions are answered."

"Honestly, I'm not confident," Noki shook her head.

Monty Mole raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" The players turned left and followed the straight road.

"Toad is unpredictable, you can never say what's going on in his mind," Noki replied calmly. "He could have answered his questions randomly, just like he could have answered them with his heart. Or... He could have answered them in a logical way that isn't logical at all for Bootler and I. There are many possible scenarios." Bootler's eyes widened, but he quickly went back to his usual collected self.

"I see," nodded Monty Mole. "Here's our first junction," he announced, stopping in his track. Taking out a green card from his pocket, he read what was written on it aloud. "The first question that Toad was asked is : 'Who do you think would be more likely wreck havoc during the party of someone they didn't like'? If you believe that Toad answered Bootler, we will go left. If you think he answered Noki, we will go straight."

**Bootler** : I knew straight away that going with Noki for this round, it would be a battle of the sexes. I would say that Toad himself would be more likely to consider a girl for one question for multiple reasons, and Noki would say the contrary for other reasons. That is why I told her beforehand that we should not take things personally. I could only hope that she would listen to me.

Noki stared at her feet, nervously. "I knew this wouldn't be easy... You and I... We would never be able to sabotage someone's party, even if we don't like them. It just isn't in our nature."

Bootler smiled, happy to see that Noki realized that the questions meant nothing. "That is very true," he confirmed. Then, his face became serious. "However, Toad had to answer someone, and I believe he answered you."

Noki frowned. "Well, I thought he would answer you. You are a Boo, and Boo are known for their mischievous nature, aren't they?"

"That is true, but the question does not deal with species but rather unique characters. Between you, a young lively girl, and I, an old boring man, who would go to a party? Who would have the possibility to wreck havoc during this party? Also, Toad is the kind of person who would go with genders to answer those questions."

"Fine," Noki muttered unenthusiastically, "I have a feeling all the bad answers are for me anyway..."

**Noki** : Somehow, I knew that they would say me for most of the negative things... I'm not very happy with it, but if I must, I might as well entertain them... Still, it made me sad.

Bootler shook his head. "Noki. Toad and I _know_ that you would never do the things we said you were more likely to do. I do not want to lose this round, so that is why I have to use my head and answer the questions logically. We do not think that you would wreck havoc during someone's party because you are a girl, but we think that most people are more likely to answer that a girl would do that, which is why we picked you as an answer."

"I'm still not convinced. I just think you like him better, that's all."

Bootler furrowed his brow. "Noki, I do not like him better, but I do know him better than you. And you know that it is true, you were with Flurrie and Birdo while I was with him and Pauline. Actually, I think the whole problem is that we do not know you as much as we know each other..."

"Oh, you're right!" Noki realized, putting a hand to her mouth, her expression brightening. "This game revolves around what we think the others will answer! So during the first round, you actually answered your questions thinking about what Toad would answer, not me."

Bootler looked troubled for an instant, but he quickly regained his composure. "Yes, that is exactly that! I had no idea as to what you would answer, so I instead focused on Toad's thinking."

Seeing that the explanations were coming to an end (that and he always loved a good drama), Monty Mole cleared his throat loudly. "Is Noki your final answer?"

"Yes," smiled Noki, looking no longer morose. "We'll go straight."

"Alright! Let's go!" ordered the host, leading the players further down the paved road. They walked until they reached the place where Toad and Noki had first finished at. There Monty Mole turned to them and showed them the two ways that were offered to them.

"For this question, if you choose Bootler, we'll jump onto the roof of those two houses and continue on that way. If you answer Noki, we will continue our way toward that boat," he pointed at the distance. Then everyone waited.

"Hmm, Monty? You forgot to ask us the question," Noki pointed out awkwardly. The host put his palm on his forehead.

"My bad. The question is : 'If you committed a crime, had a thirty year sentence and had the possibility to pin the blame on someone between Bootler and Noki, who would you choose'?"

That time, Noki was first to suggest something. "Okay, I know that you know him better than me, but I don't think he would blame me. I'm a female, you're a male, if he's chivalrous he would say you."

"My first impression would be that he would blame me too. Not only are you a female, but I am a Boo. I could easily go through the walls of the jail and escape," Bootler explained thoughtfully. Noki nodded, pleased.

"I don't think he would say me at all, there's just no way... Or is it?" she interrogated Bootler. The butler reassured her.

"If Toad answered you for this one, he had better give us a good explanation once we are finished with this challenge," Bootler chuckled. Then, he faced Monty Mole. "We decide to go with me."

**Noki** : There was nothing hard about this question. Nobody in their right mind would imprison a girl instead of a boy.

Monty Mole nodded and jumped onto the roof of the house located on their left. He helped Bootler and Noki onto the roof and the trio made its way toward the bridge. They walked across an unstable plank of wood and reached the bridge they decided to go forward and could not help but be amazed when the Tower of Pizza could be seen on their right.

"Nice architecture," Bootler commented.

"Jojora would have liked to see it, I'm sure," Noki stated, remembering the previous executed player. "I wonder why it's so inclined, though... What if it falls on the houses below?"

Bootler shuddered at the thought while Monty stared at the tower, musing on Noki's interrogation. The three of them finally arrived before two houses, much like the previous times. There was a pink house on the left and an orange one on the right, the players had to take a gondola to knock on the door. Thankfully, the mole was kind enough to offer the players a ride, and so, they all set sail toward their final destination.

Monty Mole put the paddle on the gondola and took out the ninth and final green card of the game. Looking intently at the players, he enunciated clearly the words written on it. "Toad's final question was : 'If someone told you that one person between Bootler and Noki was a criminal, who would you deem as untrustworthy at first glance?' If Bootler is your reply, open the left door. If Noki is your answer, open the right door."

Noki bit her lip. "This is hard. We're both innocent looking."

"I am afraid we will have to take a wild guess, here." Bootler shook his head, unhappy with his proposal. "Our criteria are definitely different."

**Bootler** : The question was asking Toad who he thought was most suspicious on the outside, that is not something you can answer with logic. Impressions are not the same from one individual to another.

Noki sighed. "I suggest going with you, just because you are a Boo." Bootler was going to object, so the blue-shelled girl quickly expand her comments. "Like, put you in his situation. If someone asked you to tell him or her at first glance who you thought was most suspicious between a Toad and a Goomba, what would you say?"

"Well, it definitely depends on-"

"No," Noki cut in abruptly. "Just imagine a normal Goomba and a normal Toad."

"I see what you mean, the Goomba is much more suspicious looking," Bootler realized. "Very well, we will open the left door."

"Are you sure about that?" Monty Mole checked. The contestants nodded, so Monty Mole approached the edge of the property. Noki jumped on the flight of steps before the house and knocked on the door, ultimately receiving no reply.

"Well, that's too bad," shrugged Monty Mole. "Toad wasn't here. Let's go get him."

The mission had been an utter failure.

…

Noki, Bootler and Monty did not have to go far to find Toad. Located behind the Tower of Pizza, the mushroom gave a weak smile as his partners approached, knowing full well that their challenge had been lost. The host rowed toward a yellow house and let Toad inside the gondola, giving him the paddle in the process. Toad looked puzzled for a moment and groaned, realizing he had been tricked by the host.

"That's the second time today," the mushroom complained, sailing toward the land. "So I take it we didn't win any money?"

"Your assumptions are unfortunately correct," Bootler sigh, resting inside the boat.

"Oh well, we still have the next challenge," Noki reminded them.

Monty Mole nodded. "Yes, you unfortunately didn't manage to add any coin during the challenge, so your team pot still stands at one hundred ninety three thousand coins. It's still pretty good, you know?"

Challenge's Results :

_Money Won : 0_

_Team Pot : 193 000 coins_

"Well, yes, but we would have liked to win more coins," Noki told him. "When we remove the Mole's sabotages from the game, we see that they're not the only one who made us lose money. I would even go as far as saying that the players of this game made the team lose more money than the Mole alone."

"Yeah, but if the Mole was the sole saboteur, everyone would find them out during the first episode and the game wouldn't be as exciting," Toad noted.

"Say, Monty, would you happen to know which questions we got wrong?"

"Man, the questions were almost impossible to answer! You have no idea how much I struggled to answer them!"

"I think we can relate to that," Bootler considered.

"Trust me, you really don't know. They were much more difficult than yours and Noki's."

Monty Mole grinned. "Well, I found them funny!"

Noki rolled her eyes. "Of course you would."

Monty Mole widened his eyes in fake surprise. "Do you think I'm that heartless?"

"Yes!" the three players chorused, laughing.

"Heh, you might be right. So let's take a look at Toad's questions, shall we? His first question was : 'Who do you think would be more likely wreck havoc during the party of someone they didn't like'?"

Toad focused his eyes on the water, rowing faster than before. "Well, no offense Noki, but I chose you for this one. Bootler is way too old to do this kind of stuff. And while I think you'd never do that either, I can always picture you doing it, whereas it's out of the question for Bootler."

"We guessed this one correctly then," Bootler hesitated, unsure about something. "But the last two questions were quite transparent. I doubt we answered them wrong..."

"How about the last one?" Noki recalled. "We weren't sure at all."

"The next question was : 'If you committed a crime, had a thirty year sentence and had the possibility to pin the blame on someone between Bootler and Noki, who would you choose'? Toad, who did you choose for this one?"

Toad hesitated. "That was a horrible question, I didn't know who to choose and I almost chose at random, but then I thought we'd lose so that would be even worse. I picked Noki, sorry."

Bootler and Noki were shocked. "Why did you choose her?" inquired the host.

"Bootler is old. I'm not sure he would survive thirty years in jail. But Noki's much younger, so she would be out before her sixtieth birthday. Also, I thought she would probably get a remission."

"I have to say, I am greatly surprised. We both thought that you would say me, since Noki is a female," Bootler explained to the mushroom.

"And he's a Boo," the inhabitant of Isle Delfino piped up, "he would be able to get out of his cell easily."

Toad slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah, that was another deciding factor! Bootler would have never been able to escape. And he wouldn't have been able to interact with anyone for thirty long years." Bootler and Noki were intrigued. "You wouldn't know since you've never done anything wrong, but if a criminal is a Boo or a ghost, they aren't locked in a cell. Instead, they are trapped within a portrait, so that they can't escape. They only do that to people who commit crimes, though."

"Oh, that makes sense now..."

As the gondola reached the land, Monty spoke up again. "And the last question was : 'If someone told you that one person between Bootler and Noki was a criminal, who would you deem as untrustworthy at first glance?'"

"Well, I said Bootler because he is a Boo."

"Racist," Noki joked as everyone began to laugh. The small group made hopped off the gondola and started making its way back to Pipetown. The players' heads full with thoughts.

**Bootler** : Both Noki and Toad were suspicious during the mission. Noki would not stop to go against our answers and then she did as if she were the victim, even when Toad and I specifically told her that we were not targeting her on purpose! The first round was mainly lost because of her if I recall. And while Toad was doing as if he did not sabotage, I cannot help but wonder if he thought through his answers which were very fishy. Especially the one dealing with sending us to jail for thirty years.

**Noki** : Toad and Bootler can justify themselves all they want, I really think they did sabotage today. First, we have Bootler who answered the opposite of what Toad and I had chose, and then we have Toad who decided to twist the question so that he would be able to take advantage of our confusion. I can agree that I did make some mistakes, to an extent, but they both did more sabotages than me in the end. With the mission completely lost, the Mole must have taken action.

**Toad** : This is ridiculous. Noki completely led me astray from the truth when I was with her, she didn't want to be chosen by Bootler so I basically had no choice but to comply and choose to say me for the first two questions. She takes the word 'Mole' to a whole new level. But Bootler isn't in the clear either. Every time I was saying something, he would argue with me and find a way to prove me wrong. However, in the end, he was wrong, so that definitely didn't help us at all.

* * *

And so ends the first mission of episode eight! I hope you liked it and I apologize for all the mistakes I could have made. I gave it another read to hunt the mistakes and I corrected a few, but I might have missed some.

Thank you to the people who voted on the poll, I appreciate it. However, I decided not to reveal you the results of the poll. At least, not before the winner, runner-up and Mole are known. I will change the poll toward the very end of the story to ask you your final guess of the Mole (with only three choices and a marvelous SPOILER alert), which will also be revealed later so that you won't be influenced.

If you were offended because you thought there was sexism (whether you are a female or a male) in this mission, I humbly apologize.

The next mission isn't action-filled but I think it will still be good. The last one, however, will be the most Mario Party-esque we've seen so far.

You might have to wait a long time for it, unfortunately (like, at least one month). My finals should happen sometime in April/May (heh, a clue from my first French Mole story *shot*) and well, let's just say that the annoying university teachers like to make up for their absences by forcing us to come during the last week.

Until next time!


	30. Cradle of Knowledge

**Shilo Burbans (1)** : Yeah, usually, there are many acts of sabotage during the three questions game, as well as lots of mistakes, but that's understandable since there's a Mole in the group and everything. I lol'd at your list, mainly at what was written between the parenthesis. XD Thank you for your review. ^^

**Cyan Comet (1)** : Don't worry, short reviews are reviews and as such, they are really appreciated ! ^^ I see that you've basically chosen as your Mole. ^^

**Krisetchers** : Yeah, true, I like controversy myself. XD As for Bootler's story, I've always wondered why, in Paper Mario, there was a reference to youth when it concerned Boo because I thought that ghosts were immortal and ageless, so I decided to write a little 'backstory'. It's always fun to make sense of a universe which doesn't make much sense to begin with. Well, I'd rather credit you, because it's your idea, and also because I would feel bad 'stealing' from your stories, which are awesome.

**Cyan Comet (2)** : Haha, you didn't need to make such a long review if you didn't want to. XD Mmmh, from your post, I can safely deduce the character you want to see win this game. Thank you so much for your last comment, but there are better stories out there, I'm sure of it. ^^

**Champ (1)** : Thanks for your review, and I'm actually quite excited myself to finish this story, because I really want to detail the players' strategies and everything that went on behind the scenes. I liked the fact that you sent in your quiz. XD I would have liked to suggest reviewers to do that for the final episode, but then I wouldn't be able to do much with speed ties and people woud be able to read the previous chapters to be reminded of who did what, which is pretty natural. + Sorry for Jojora, but looking at the reviews, I saw that she was basically always unsuspected so... And to say that she was the original winner of this story. XD

**Champ (2)** : Yeah, the Three questions game is hard, but that's what makes it fun, though I must say people take things too seriously sometimes. But hey, if you're the Mole, then you can pretend to be angry, to sabotage, lol.

**Champ (3)** : Yup, big failure. Most of the time, I like to mitigate the damages, but not this time. And normally, they should be able to add enough money to the pot so that they can reach 200 000 coins. Normally.

**Cyan Comet (3) & (4)** : I was curious as to what you had discovered, but then you said that you misinterpreted things. Oh well, don't worry, I bet you've already found clues. ^^

**Shilo Burbans (2)** : But didn't the character you mentioned in your review fail right before the final 3? A little like how you know who was played right before the final in the second season of the Mole US.

**Person With A Question** : Yes, I do have fake clues, though I don't really remember all of them. There might also be coincidences. Because sometimes, I'll write some parts of the story normally, without any clue, and then someone will point out that there's a clue in this passage. People already pointed things in my second French story. Things that were misinterpreted but that led them to the real Mole, lol. As to your question, the correct answer is : 'Tu as un stylo.' because 'stylo/pen' is a masculine word. Your second proposition is false because it is missing the verb 'as' which is 'avoir' conjugated at the second person of the singular. I hope I helped you. ^^

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players had begun the first challenge of the last episode, called 'The Three Questions Game'. After they had failed the first round, with Noki and Toad trying to answer the questions to find Bootler, it was time for the inhabitant of Isle Delfino to hide herself. Bootler and Toad often disagreed with each other when they answered the questions, and ultimately failed to reach Noki as they had made a mistake at the first junction. Afterward, Toad was the last one to hide while Bootler and Noki were to find where he was hidden. They also failed because Toad had apparently answered a question in a controversial way, which meant that the players won no coin at all during the challenge. Thankfully, two more challenges were awaiting them. Would they add money to the pot?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

30 : Cradle of Knowledge

Monty Mole and the three remaining players, Bootler, Noki and Toad, emerged from Gate Seven, looking pleased despite the loss of the challenge they had played only earlier during the day. As per usual, Monty Mole was leading the group, his face concealed from the players' eyes. Behind him, the final three players were chatting happily.

"I can't believe it," Noki giggled heartily. "We're almost done with this game! I never thought I would say this, but I'm going to miss the action and everything once it's over!"

"Yeah!" Toad confirmed enthusiastically. "To think that we only have one more challenge... It's crazy, right?" Monty Mole smiled ever so slightly at this remark.

Bootler nodded. "Yes, you are quite right, Toad. Even though we will all miss this game, all good things have an end! Besides, I cannot speak for you two, but I wish to return to Boo Mansion. I am a little homesick." The Boo shielded his eyes with his hand. "Oh, if only this sun would stop being so bright!"

Noki and Toad chuckled, soon joined by Monty Mole.

**Bootler** : I admit that I want this game to end soon, because I miss Boo Mansion and more particularly Lady Bow, however, at the same time, I wish it would never end. After living with them for so long, it is almost as if Noki, Toad and Monty Mole were part of my family. I will definitely miss them once we have finished our adventure.

"Mmmh, Monty, where are we going?" Toad wondered aloud, startling the host. The mole did not bother to turn toward him.

"We're going nowhere, actually. You guys are just following me like stalkers," Monty Mole joked merrily, earning a laugh from the competitors. "Seriously, you are free to do whatever you want. But!" he exclaimed suddenly, facing the players with a stern look on his face, "I want you all at our usual meeting place at seven PM sharp. Terrible consequences await you if you arrive late," he warned.

**Noki** : At this point of the game, we've all understood that when we don't follow the rules, the team is penalized. Since we're this close to the end of the game, it would be useless to break those rules just to seem suspicious, especially when the consequences involve the loss of money. We all have our own suspect, and we will all answer accordingly tomorrow. Assuming that the final quiz is tomorrow.

Wit nothing better to do than hang out together in Pipetown, the three remaining players decided to take advantage of their free time to relax together. They knew the game was finally reaching its end, and with everyone having their definite suspect, there were no tensions, just three friends who had survived the whole duration of this festive vacation.

"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Noki questioned.

"Hmm... I really don't know," Toad shrugged. "What is there to do, anyways?"

Bootler suggested his idea. "I suppose we could buy souvenirs for our friends, families and even for ourselves, for I doubt we will have the occasion to do so later on. I can feel it, our last challenge is going to happen very soon," he explained, nodding to himself.

"Okay! Actually, I kind of like the idea," Noki beamed happily. "That reminds me of trips, when we were at school. Always toward the end of those trips, we would be allowed to squander our money on bibelots or ornaments," she recalled.

"Cool!" Toad exclaimed. "Then it's settled, let's buy things we don't need!" He earned a laugh from his teammates. "Does anyone have a map?"

"I don't," replied Noki.

"Neither do I," Bootler answered in the same fashion. Toad sighed.

"Well, I guess we should head to our hotel. I have a map in my luggage."

Noki and Bootler agreed and together, they made their way toward their hotel. There, they saw Monty Mole seated at a table, enjoying a fresh lemonade and reading a large book. As he spotted them, he waved warmly.

"So you decided to walk straight home? I didn't know you were so afraid of the terrible consequences I mentioned earlier," the host declared mysteriously.

"Nah, it's nothing of the sort. We're here so that I can retrieve a map from my room," Toad replied. He excused himself from the scene and ran toward his room, hurriedly, while Monty Mole shrugged and went back to his book.

"Good book?" Noki tried to make small talk with the host.

"Oh yes, it's _very_ interesting," Monty Mole answered politely.

"I bet it's a mystery novel!" Noki assumed, pointing her finger at the host, accusingly.

"Not quite," he smiled. "However, it's _definitely_ a book _everyone_ should know. Especially me, since I'm linked to the author, in a bizarre sort of way."

"Oh, I see," Noki whispered, a small smile gracing her features. She decided to stay here with her conversation as she did not want to disrupt the host anymore. Meanwhile, Bootler squinted his eyes to see the title of the book, to no avail.

**Bootler** : I was contemplating the idea that the host reading a book might have been a clue pointing to the Mole's identity, as he said there was a bizarre link tying him to its author, however, as far as I know, none of us has written a book. Furthermore, it would have been very impolite to interrupt him further, so I decided to drop the subject. I assume I will see in due time whether it was a clue or not. However, the way he emphasized everything he said was still bothering me. His cryptic words did not help either.

Toad suddenly emerged from the entrance of the hotel, holding victoriously a map in his hand. "Hey, I got it everyone! Here we go!"

"I'm not sure Mario would be very pleased if he heard that you'd stolen his catchphrase," Monty Mole pointed out, still reading his book.

Toad shrugged. "Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him!"

…

"According to the map, we should be here," Toad trailed off, looking at what was before him.

The players were standing before a huge swimming pool which had a dome-like structure instead of a commercial zone, the place they wanted to go to. Needless to say, the three players were confused, was the map lying to them?

The blue-shelled girl approached the building and looked around, trying to discover the location of the shops, while Bootler stayed behind with Toad. "I don't see anything... Is the map lying to us?"

Bootler scratched his chin. "Toad, may I see the map?" The mushroom boy gave it to him. "Thank you..." Bootler spent some time, looking intently at the map before folding it. "I do not know how you did it, Toad, but you misled us. We are definitely not where we were supposed to be. I take it that you are not good with directions?"

Toad shrugged and Noki came back. "Well, I found something fun to do while we're here!" she chirped gleefully.

"And what would that be?" Bootler wondered, eyebrow arched.

"Fortune telling!"

"I would have never guessed that you were into divination," Bootler chuckled lightly.

"It could be cool!" Toad agreed. "Let's give it a try! Maybe the fortune teller will be able to tell us who will win this game?"

"I would not get my hopes too high," Bootler advised, already considering the fact that the fortune teller could very well be a swindler.

The trio made its way toward the fortune teller's caravan and entered it. Inside, they could see a lot of strange ornaments situated on shelves, many curtains and veils with shades of blue and purple. On those materials were constellations. And the most important thing was located at the very center of the small caravan : a small table covered by a purple sheet on which was located a beautiful crystal ball. Strangely enough, the fortune teller was not present.

"I see," muttered the old butler. "So that is where she decided to exercise her job..."

"What do you mean, Bootler? You know something?" Toad inquired, curious as to his friend's declaration.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I know the fortune teller. Let me call her." The Boo went to a shelf and retrieved a flashlight. He activated it and pointed the beam of light toward the crystal ball which began to glow brighter and brighter. Soon, the whole room was illuminated and a female ghost appeared on the other side of the table. "Good afternoon, Madame Clairvoya," Bootler bowed politely.

"Oh, Bootler, I see! What a surprise to see you here!" Madame Clairvoya greeted warmly. "What is it you seek to know?"

"Oh well, my friend, Noki-"

"Hi!" Noki waved shyly.

"-wanted us to see a fortune teller. You see, we are partaking in a game and we are the final three, so we wanted to consult you to know more about...our future," Bootler explained simply.

Toad nodded. "Yeah, like, who's going to win, and what's going to happen and stuff like that," he went on.

"Destiny chooses our paths, there is nothing you can do to avoid it. Do you still wish to know?" Madame Clairvoya asked, a mysterious tone in her voice.

"She's right," Toad pointed out, "do we?"

"I'm not sure anymore," Noki whispered, biting her nails. "I don't want to be disappointed."

Bootler shook his head. "It should not be an issue. Madame Clairvoya can only see up to forty nine days in the future. So even if we were to ask her who will win our game, she would be unable to respond."

"Indeed, that is correct," the female ghost confirmed. "I would also need something that you own to you read your future and give you details. However, I can also do normal fortune telling. I will not force you, take your time."

"Let's do the general thing, I say!" Toad suggested.

"Yes, do that," Madame Clairvoya agreed.

Toad sat at the opposite side of the table, followed by Noki and Bootler. "I'm Toad, by the way!"

"I know, the spirits told me."

"Huh... Okay..."

Madame Clairvoya looked intently at her crystal ball, before she spoke up. "Ah! I see! My orb tells me a great many things about your journey! Aaaah! The end is near and your morals are tested! What to do? What to do? I see a mole...with plenty of money... And a finish line! Harumm... Oooh! One for all or all for one? A final test of hard difficulty! Aaah! But even before that, I see a book! It threatens your friendship! I see, I see much money next to this book! Temptation creeps into you! Oooh! The spirits depart, I can see no more. This is all I can tell you."

"That was very...dramatic," Noki noted, smiling lightly. "But thank you nevertheless! I'll keep in mind what you told us for the remainder of our adventure."

Toad tilted his head to the side. "Apparently, our future challenges involve teamwork but if we're greedy, we'll lose them. Did I get that right?"

"I would assume so," Bootler answered as they exited Madame Clairvoya's caravan. "Now, there is something that is puzzling me. Madame Clairvoya spoke of a book which surely represented money, and earlier, we saw _someone_ we know very well with a strange _book_. I would like to inspect Monty Mole's book. The way he talked about it seemed quite peculiar to me."

Noki stood against the caravan, an interested look on her face. "You're right! Monty didn't do anything to hide the fact that it was important!" Suddenly, she stopped beaming. "But I got a close look at his book. It was a normal book, no money was inside and it didn't seem like it was holding any secret."

"I'm totally lost," Toad could not help saying.

"Come on Toad!" Noki laughed, giving him a small push on the shoulders. "We're going back to the hotel to check Monty's book because Bootler thinks it's important." Toad shrugged and followed them.

"You know... The book she talked about could represent our journals," Toad mentioned, before stopping dead in his tracks. "Or... It could represent the Mole's journal!"

"Or," Noki went on, "our next challenge could simply involve books."

"Yes, I suppose we will see what it is in due time," Bootler finished.

…

Unfortunately for them, Monty Mole was gone when they arrived at their hotel. They looked for him everywhere, to no avail. They decided to use their remaining time to buy souvenirs like they had planned and came back fifteen minutes before their allotted time was over, ensuring that they would not lose money from the team pot.

"Well, that was fun!" Toad grinned.

"So true," Noki replied warmly. "I wonder, why we didn't do that sooner?"

"My guess would be that with all the alliances and the stress built up because of the game, we were focused on our main objective and thus, we could not really interact with each other. We did not have to either, because we were 'enemies' in a way," Bootler explicated once again. "Not to mention that we were quite divided, and that, from the very beginning of our adventure. Do you remember? Jojora brought a lot of unneeded tension between the protagonists of this game right after the first challenge."

"Don't remind me," Noki rolled her eyes, reminded of the fact that Jojora had made Flurrie's life horrible in The Mole.

**Toad** : It's funny how we were on opposite sides at the beginning, because it certainly doesn't feel this way anymore. We've grown to like each other a lot and to be honest, I feel like I've always known Noki and Bootler while in fact, I don't know them at all. It's kind of crazy.

The players had been waiting in the lounge for ten minutes when Monty Mole finally made his apparition. He motioned for them to follow him in the dining area.

"Well, players, we are on a tight schedule, so we'd better not waste any time," the host announced right off the bat. "We're going to have dinner first and then, we'll go straight to the location of our next challenge."

"I guess it's useless to try to get more information about the challenge?"

"Your guess is absolutely correct, Toad. Now, let's eat!" Monty Mole demanded, sitting at their usual table.

"I wonder why he is so impatient," Bootler could not help but whisper to Noki. The blue-shelled girl shrugged.

"I have a hypothesis. Maybe we're going to some place which will be closed if we don't hurry up," she replied in a hushed tone. The inhabitant of Delfino Island scanned the menu and made her choice. "I'll have lasagna," she told the waiter.

"Give me a mushroom omelette," Monty Mole ordered gently.

"Stuffed calamari, if you please," Bootler chose politely.

"And I'll take boiled beef with vegetables," Toad nodded to himself.

"And make it quick, we are in a hurry," Monty Mole added, smiling to the waiter.

**Noki** : It was pretty strange for Monty Mole to be in such a hurry, which made me think that our next mission would probably be timed. When you think about it, this is the only logical conclusion you can draw.

…

"Excellent!" exclaimed Monty Mole, on their way to their next destination. "We have more than enough time for this challenge!"

"Where are we headed?" Bootler inquired calmly. From the direction they were taking, the players could deduce that their challenge would not happen in any of the different party worlds.

Monty did not reply, instead he hummed a tune. Toad cast a glance toward their host, shrugging.

"That's weird, usually we don't have any challenge after dinner," Noki pointed out.

"I just hope it won't be tiring. I need my beauty sleep," Toad complained. Noki rolled her eyes.

"Come on, last challenge wasn't that hard," she commented, shaking her head.

Toad grinned. "Or was it? We've walked all day long, it's a wonder you're not tired yourself," the mushroom boy noted.

"Oh, you're right," she put her hand on her mouth, a look of realization crossing her face. Suddenly, Bootler put his palm on his face.

"I should have known," he muttered loud enough so that the others could hear him. "Of course, that was the clue."

Noki and Toad glanced at him, baffled. "What do you mean?" Noki asked.

"Well, see for yourselves," Bootler answered, pointing at the building they were facing.

"What do you-Oh!" Toad realized. "A library, huh?"

Monty Mole nodded and beckoned to them. They took that as their cue to follow him. They did so hastily and opened the door to the library which was really huge, at least to them. The library contained so much books that it had two floors, they were also tables disposed strategically, for people who were conducting researches. In spite of the late hours of the day, they were still many customers inside the building. Bootler, Noki and Toad observed the building, a look of uneasiness plastered on their faces.

"I have a _bad_ feeling about this," Noki trailed off, voicing her friends' concern.

Bootler smiled slightly. "We can only hope it is not one of those needle in a haystack type of challenges."

"Fear not, Bootler, for your mental capacities will also be put to the test," Monty Mole winked slyly. "This, is your next challenge. Together, you will have to find books thanks to clues. In each book figures a clue leading to another book, the first one being given to you at the beginning of the challenge."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Toad crossed his arms, unimpressed.

"It depends on your perception of 'bad'," Monty retorted smartly. "You see, the clues will never give you an answer right away. Using your knowledge and wits, you'll have to uncover their true meaning. Once you've found their signification, you'll have to find another book and then you repeat everything until you found your last clue."

Noki smiled kindly. "Easy as pie!"

"Oh, _really_?" An imperceptible smirk made its way on Monty Mole's face. "What if I told you that your challenge is timed, and that you cannot speak with the employees?"

"Well, that complicates our affairs slightly," Bootler grumbled.

"What is this challenge's name, anyway?" Noki inquired.

"That, I can't tell you yet, not that it's really important. This challenge is worth twenty thousand coins. If you succeed in less than thirty minutes, the whole sum will be added to your pot. However, every ten minutes after this deadline, five thousand coins will be lost. It might be confusing, so I'll give you an example. Let's say that you finish the challenge forty five minutes after it started. Then you'll only earn ten thousand coins. Did you understand?" the host questioned.

"Yes," Noki confirmed.

"So in total, we have one hour," Toad calculated.

**Bootler** : Timed challenges are the worst kind, because no matter what happens, we must hurry and always go onward. Since we are pressed for time, we make stupid mistakes that we could normally avoid and we do not even realize it until it is too late. This was the only time I really did want to win. The other times, it did not matter that much.

**Toad** : Monty Mole was very vague and distant in his explanations, nothing he said corroborated Madame Clairvoya's vision, so I was kind of dubious. Was it really our last challenge?

Monty Mole acquiesced. "Indeed. While you can't talk to the employees, you can and probably will talk to the other people if you want to win, since you might need a little help in this big library."

"You can say that again," Toad grinned.

"You should always expect the unexpected," Monty added as a last advice. "Now, if everyone's ready, I'll give you the first clue. Any objection?" Nobody answered his question, so he assumed that there was indeed no objection. "Very well then, the challenge shall begin...now."

The host handed them a first slip of paper on which was written a clue, and walked toward one of the sections of the library to take a book. He nodded to himself and sat at a nearby table to begin his reading. The last remaining players followed him with their eyes, suspicious of their host.

"Well, maybe we should open it," Toad proposed, glancing at Bootler. The Boo opened it delicately and read its content, his face showing he was puzzled.

"Ah-hem... There are numbers : 'two, seven, eight, thirteen'. Whatever could that mean?"

Noki bit her nails, showing anxiousness. "Are you sure there isn't something else on it?"

"Certain," responded the ghost. "See for yourself." Noki inspected the note but found nothing else.

Meanwhile, Toad had decided to ask people some questions about this library. "Excuse me?" he asked a Sniffit.

"Yes?" The Sniffit was surprised. "Are you looking for something?"

"Well, yeah. I was wondering, do you often come to read books?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay, so can I ask you some questions about this library? Like, I'm new here, and I don't know what kind of system they use to sort the books. Do you think you could tell me?"

The purple Sniffit smiled to the mushroom. "It's really easy, there's a call number on every book. The first number will either be one of two. With it, you can tell on which floor is located the book. Then, there's the section number. Basically, it tells you on which aisle you should find the book. If you look above you, you should see the numbers as well as what they represent. For example, in front of us," he pointed toward the sign he and Toad were facing, "we have the Greek aisle, with all kind of books dealing with Greek. The second-to-last number should help you put the book back where it belongs, since the aisles themselves are more defined."

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much you helped me!" Toad waved before returning to his friends who were currently checking the aisle in which Monty Mole had borrowed a book.

"It's no use, we're doing something wrong," Noki whispered, shaking her head.

"Hey guys!" Toad exclaimed. "I asked someone and he told me a few things. Let's go find our first book."

"So you know where it is located?" Bootler wondered aloud, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah! My informant told me that numbers were use to classify the books in this library. Basically, the first number serves to locate on which floor the book should be, the second one determine the aisle and the third one, the category," Toad explained rapidly, going up the stairs two steps at a time.

"Oh! I see it!" Noki pointed to a sign and ran to it, followed closely by her peers. "Recipe books!"

The three players decided to go their separate ways to cover more ground, however, in the end, they did not find the eighth section.

"We might have overlooked it during our search," Bootler noted, his eyes closed. "Let us stay together, that way, if one of us misses a row, the others can still see it. What do you say?"

"I'm all for that suggestion!" Toad agreed enthusiastically. "But let's move, we're wasting time. We don't even know how many books there are."

Noki was looking particularly focused. "Eight... Eight... Eight! There it is!" she pointed at a peculiar part of the bookcase. Bootler, it was on your side."

Bootler frowned. "My apologies, I must have missed it."

**Noki** : It was odd for Bootler to miss such an obvious thing, since he always has an eye for details. I found that very out of character, but it would make sense if he were the Mole, since they only need to waste our time like that so we can lose. Honestly, that's the kind of mistake I would have expected from Toad.

"I have the book number thirteen!" Toad yelled. "It's called 'Tayce T.'s Secrets'."

"Open it, our clue should be inside," Bootler indicated.

"Right! So my clue is... I'm sorry, but I can't read this language..."

Noki beamed. "It has to do with dictionaries, then!"

Toad cleared his throat. "No, I just said that I couldn't read the clue."

"Oh," Noki blushed, realizing her mistake. She picked the paper from Toad's mouth and began to read it. "Okay, let me read. 'Le conte d'un meurtre dans des contrées glaciales par un célèbre auteur.'."

"And what would that mean?" Bootler inquired. Since he did not know any other language than English, he was at a loss.

Noki knitted her brows. "I can roughly translate it as 'tale of a murder in icy climes by a famous author.'. Do you have any idea as to what book it could be about?"

**Toad** : Without Noki we'd have had to translate the words ourselves, which would have taken a really long time. Is it that much of a stretch to assume that Noki's the Mole just because of that?

"I actually do," Bootler confirmed. "However... Knowing what it means is useless, unless we find a way to locate its position. I believe the book in question is named 'Murder at Shiver City' and was written by none other than the famous Herringway."

"Should we ask people about the book?" Noki suggested.

"I don't think so," Toad intervened. "Since we know there's a call number on each of the book, there's probably a computer or a machine on which we can make researches."

Bootler grinned. "Good logic! Let us explore the library."

"No, I think we should ask people around," Toad objected quickly. "We'd lose too much time if we didn't."

The three partners decided that it was their best option, and as such, they started interrogating the readers. One of them gave valuable information to the group. "Yeah, there are six computers in this library, three on each floor. On the first floor, they are near the entrance while on the second floor, they are at the back of the room. You know, so people won't be disturbed by the noise."

The little group chose to find the computers located on the second floor, and they managed to do it. Their informant did not lie, three computers were hidden and set back from the main room. Toad and Noki immediately sat before the machines while Bootler stood back, thinking the other two would have an easier time.

"Thanks to Bootler, it shouldn't take long," Toad remarked. "Apparently, this software is pretty easy to use. You just have to enter the name of the author or the name of their novel and you should have your results."

"And I just got it!"

"Me too!"

"So? What are the numbers?" Bootler questioned.

"First floor, aisle twenty four, section four and book fifty one," replied Noki and Toad at the same time.

Bootler nodded. "Shall we?" The others did not have to be asked twice, they tore down the stairs leading to the first floor and immediately started to look for aisle twenty four. While Noki and Bootler were walking around aimlessly, Toad decided to take another approach by interrogating people.

"Hi!" he greeted warmly, giving his best smile to a Toadette in a blue dress. "Could you tell me where aisle twenty four is? Please?"

"Sure," replied the friendly Toadette. She led him to the right place and waved once she had done so. Toad easily found the right book and took the clue from the last page.

**Toad** : I figured that it would be easier to just ask people where the books were located instead of looking for them by myself. Not to mention that it saved time.

It took him some time to find both Noki and Bootler who were at opposite sides of the library, but once he did, he gave them his clue.

"Interesting," mumbled Bootler while scratching his chin. "'A tale of an ace smashing his way to the top'... I wonder what it could deal with..."

"My guess is it deals with planes or something like that," Toad suggested.

"I don't know," Noki hesitated. "I think it deals with sports, but I'm not a fan of sports so I can't tell you anything else, unfortunately."

"From the way it is worded, we can safely infer that we are looking for a biography. The words 'ace' and 'smashing' would indicate that the person in question is someone who plays tennis," Bootler explained calmly.

"But Mario is the best tennis player of this world, and he doesn't have a biography," Toad pointed out smartly.

"Why yes, I know that," Bootler smiled kindly, before he stared at the piece of paper one more time. "However, Mario has always been at the top of the tennis league as far as I remember, hasn't he? Here, we are looking for someone who went from an unknown tennis player to the best player ever."

"Oh... Then... I guess it's Alex we're talking about. Someone who comes from another planet," Toad added.

"Let's return to the computers, we can find out more about this Alex there," Noki noted.

The three players climbed the stairs two steps at a time and rushed toward the computers, careful not to bump into anyone. In their precipitation, they had forgotten that there was another set of computers on the first floor. Noki sat down at the computer while the other two watched her from behind.

"So, does this Alex have a name?" Noki asked Toad, who replied by shaking his head.

"I doubt anyone here knows what his real name is... But since it's an autobiography, the computer must have some data available for his name. I think."

"Yes, it would make sense," Noki paused, typing rapidly on the keyboard. "And... There it is! Second floor, aisle seventeen, category one and book number thirty three."

"Alright, let's move!" the mushroom boy exclaimed.

The three remaining contestants located the right aisle as fast as they could, helped by a friendly regular. They were starting to move books aside to get a clearer look, when Toad's voice was heard.

"Hey guys, I kind of forgot the number of the category, do you remember?"

"I think it was around thirty," Bootler responded immediately. Noki nodded.

"The number was thirty three, to be exact. Do you think we should split up?"

"'Suppose so," Toad shrugged, starting with the left side of the aisle. "Well, I've the first category here, so obviously the book must be on the other side," he called out to his fellow players.

"And I have the thirty third category right in front of my eyes," Bootler announced. "However, there is no autobiography written by Alex..."

"Are we missing something...?"

"I'm going back to the computer," Noki informed them, "we might have made a mistake."

**Bootler** : I do not understand how Noki could have made such a mistake, since she was the one who made the research. It truly bothers me. And before you tell me that I did a mistake myself, let me explain that I never read the information displayed on the screen.

Noki returned five minutes later, breathing heavily. "We were wrong, thirty three was the book's number while one is the category, which basically means that Toad was standing before the book this whole time!"

"Hey! Don't go accusing me like that, I didn't look at the books, you can't blame me!" he crossed his arms.

**Noki** : This is just ridiculous. Toad was standing in front of this big book on which was written 'Tales of an Ace' and he still didn't see it? I have a hard time believing that. Add to this that Bootler confused me when he said the category number was thirty something, and you have two potential Moles.

"Well, let us look on the bright side, we have our book," the old butler relativized.

Toad nodded as he reached for the book. He opened it and flipped through the pages, hoping to find the slip of paper rather quickly, which he did. Putting the book back into place he read the clue. "'A glorious and epic play starring stars of our kingdom'... Okay, do you think they are talking about the Mushroom Kingdom here?"

"No... In my opinion this clue is about a play that took place in Party Land," Noki theorized. "We aren't in the Mushroom Kingdom after all."

"Yeah, but the stars of Party Land are the same than those of the Mushroom Kingdom," Toad countered. He opened his mouth suddenly, eyes wide open. "I know! During Mario Party Two, we presented a play which was well-received by the public – mostly because of the people that were playing a role in it, but who cares – and I know what this is!"

"That's wonderful! I didn't know you were an actor!" Noki beamed.

"Well, I was more of a narrator, if you know what I mean. But yeah, it was fun."

"Excellent," Bootler grinned. "You should remember its title then, right?"

"Well, err..."

"You don't mean...?" Noki sighed.

"Juts kidding, of course I know its title, I'm not that dumb," Toad smirked. "We called it 'Mario Party', a simple title for a simple play." The others nodded and together, the group made its way toward the computers.

After a few clicks here and there, Noki was able to determine the location of their next book. "Second floor, aisle four, category ten, book five," she enumerated slowly, so that Bootler and Toad would remember it.

They ran as fast as they could and luckily succeeded in finding the fourth aisle. With the correct numbers in their head, they found the book in no time. Noki shook the book and another piece of paper fell out. She retrieved it from the floor and read it to her peers. "'An Alien race invading the Mushroom Kingdom, who's to say this story is entirely fictive?'"

Bootler, Noki and Toad were all puzzled by this riddle. Bootler was the first to have an idea. "We should probably split up and question everyone in this library. Someone is bound to know something, I am sure of it."

"No, let's stay together. Last time we split up, we had a hard time meeting up and we lost valuable time," Noki refused, walking toward a stranger to their group. "Excuse me, would you happen to know a book dealing with the invasion of aliens in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

The Goomba she spoke with had a look of incredulity. "Huh, no. Why do you ask? It's for a survey or something?"

"No, for a game. Thanks for you time," she replied.

Bootler decided that it was good to investigate, and with a nod to himself, he walked to a table at which were seated scholar-looking Koopa. "Pardon me, good sirs, would you be so kind as to enlighten me about this riddle?" he questioned in a refined manner. The Koopa were somewhat surprised yet very interested.

"Well, what's your riddle?" one of them asked, eager to hear about it.

Bootler smiled. "This enigma should give me the title of a book, just so you know. Here I go : 'An Alien race invading the Mushroom Kingdom, who's to say this story is entirely fictive?'"

"Oh, that's hard one," replied the same Koopa. One of his friends suddenly let out a small yell.

"I know a book that fits this riddle like a glove! It's 'The Shroob Threat' by an author called Kylie Koopa, if memory serves me right."

Bootler's eyes widened. "Are you one hundred percent sure?" The other replied positively. "Thank you very much!"

Bootler floated to Noki and Toad and told them exactly what he had discovered. "We need to find 'The Shroob Threat', by Kylie Koopa."

"What? Are you serious? Kylie Koopa? As in, _the_ Kylie Koopa? The first Mole?" A flabbergasted Toad blurted out.

"That is why my informant told me," Bootler confirmed, sending a smile to his helper. Noki clapped her hands together.

"Let's hurry, I'm pretty sure this is the last book we need to find. To the computer!"

The trio hurried toward the computers and for the final time, they entered the necessary information for their research. "Okay!" Noki began, "our last book is situated on the first floor, aisle four, category eight and book seven!"

They abandoned the computers and rushed downstairs as they knew their mission was timed. The three of them were able to find aisle four which contained Science-Fiction books and looked around to find the right one. It only took them a minute of two. Bootler grabbed the book from its shelf and flipped its pages expertly, finding the clue in a record time.

"What does it say?" Toad asked in a giddy way.

"'Congratulations, you found me! Or did you?' and that is all," Bootler summed up. "Are we done with our challenge?"

Toad frowned as he saw that something was wrong with the book. "Hey... What was this book doing here? The call number is showing a completely different location!" Noki put her hand to her mouth.

"You're right! But what could this mean...?"

"I think we need to go to where this book should be."

"Well, in view of the fact that were are quite at a loss, I say we should try Toad's suggestion," Bootler advised. They moved quickly and easily found the true location of the book they had with them, however, there was nothing that could help them there.

"What are we doing wrong?" Noki wondered aloud. The blue-shelled girl's eyes began to wander across the library until they met something conclusive. "Guys! I found her!" she yelled, jumping up and down, which was really out of character for her.

"Who?"

"The Mole!"

"Huh?"

"No time to explain, just follow me!" she ordered rather vehemently. Bootler and Toad complied, following her closely. They suddenly stopped as Noki grabbed a Koopa's arm, mouthing a victorious 'I found you!'.

The mysterious individual turned to them, a sly smirk on her face. Adjusting her green beret, she turned to face them. "Congratulations, you really did find me this time."

Bootler, Noki and Toad cheered lightly, careful not to disrupt the other people in the room.

"But your challenge isn't over yet," she twirled on the spot as she held something that looked like a book to them. Seeing their crestfallen faces, she laughed. "I'd like to interview each of you, one at a time! So, who's going first?"

Nobody was volunteering, so Bootler made the choice to go first. "I will."

"Cool! So you two, wait over there until I'm done with Bootler," she ordered, pointing toward the first floor. As Noki and Toad disappeared from her sight, she faced the Boo. "Do you see this book in my hands?" she teased him by waving it in front of his face. "This is the Mole's Dossier, the most precious item of this entire game."

"Why are you showing this to me?" Bootler inquired.

"I'm showing this to you, because it can be yours, for a shoestring. All you have to do is give me an estimation of its worth. How much is it worth in your opinion, money-wise?"

"It does not look like it is very big... Also, I wonder if there really is something of value in this book... Hmm... If I were to buy it, I would pay twenty thousand coins."

"Are you sure?"

* * *

_Sorry for the long delay, but as I said in my previous author note, I had some exams (which I ended up not preparing for in the end). Now that they are out of the way, I can continue this story. I actually had written 80% of it before my exams but then I didn't find the courage to finish it. Until now, that is._

_I'm honestly not sure if this really is a cliffhanger or not, to be honest. I think it would have been better if I had cut it with 'But your challenge isn't over yet' or the decision of the players, but whatever I guess._

_As you might have noticed, this is very similar to how **Krisetchers** included the Mole's Dossier in his first story, so the credit goes to him, obviously. There's only a small change to his twist. And unfortunately, I am not a fan of 'we give you clues that will lead you to a location and first one there has the opportunity to get the journal' challenges, it makes me rage, particularly when a certain someone I didn't like got it during the fifth season of the Mole US and somehow managed to win the whole game._

_Anyways, next part we'll see how much Bootler, Noki and Toad bade for the Mole's Dossier, I will actually upload some kind of dossier myself on my account, but as you've probably all noticed, links aren't available anymore on our profiles, so you will have to right click and copy/paste it into the research bar at the top of your screens if you wish to consult it. That will be some kind of mini-puzzle, by replacing the end of the link by something you'll be able to unlock a new page... I'll detail the procedure once I have uploaded all the pages. And we'll also see the beginning of our last challenge (it will obviously be longer than this one)._

_Also, it's now your last occasion to vote for a winner, your votes will definitely have an influence ^^._

_Anyway, have a nice day and see you next time ! ^^_


	31. Test of Endurance

**Cyan Comet** : The book he was talking about was indeed Kylie's book. And the link, well, she was a contestant in The Mole, as well as the Mole, and he is a literal mole. The last part with the fallen players is actually the revealing of the Mole. Lol, I have fake clues but not all of them are fake. XD Thanks for your review !

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the players had returned to Pipetown when Monty Mole informed them that they had the day off, that is, until seven P.M, time at which they had to come back to the hotel. The players enjoyed their free time, they went shopping and decided to pay a visit to an enigmatic fortune teller called Madame Clairvoya. They heard about their future and returned to the hotel before time was up. There, Monty Mole urged them to hurry up with their dinner, raising some questions from the players. Afterward, Monty Mole led them to the library of this very town where their second to last challenge took place. They had to find a series of clues hidden in books which would lead them to 'The Shroob Threat', another book written by Kylie Koopa, indicating that the group needed to find her to finish the challenge. Thanks to Noki's keen eyes, the group managed to find her. However, the challenge was not finished yet, as Kylie was going to tempt each of the players with the Mole's dossier.

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

31 : Test of Endurance

"Are you sure?"

Bootler glanced at Kylie, and then at the book she was holding in her hands, a look of uneasiness displayed on his face. "I am under the impression that you will later try to tempt my companions... And I am currently trying to figure out how everything will eventually play out," responded Bootler calmly, showing his impressive intellect.

"The smart one, eh?" the pink-shelled Koopa noticed, grinning.

"Oh, I can assure you, the others are nothing short of intelligent," the butler informed kindly.

**Bootler** : To be perfectly honest, I did not know what to do at the time. Obviously, I would like to keep the other two away from such a book, but there was not much I could do but bid and hope to have it. I also did not want to remove too much coins from the team pot either.

"Well," he started again, after a long time, "I will say that I would pay twenty five thousand and one coins for this book." Bootler nodded to himself before continuing. "And that is my final word."

Kylie took her pen and wrote quickly in her notebook. "Awesome! Can you please send me the next one? And don't tell them how much you bet."

"Very well." Bootler stood up from his chair and floated downstairs where Noki and Toad were waiting. As soon as they saw him, they started badgering the poor ghost with questions. Bootler raised his arm in the air so that they would stop instantly. "Kylie Koopa also wishes to speak with the both of you. I cannot tell you anything but it is very likely that you will be asked the same questions."

"Bummer," Toad scoffed lightly. "Well, do you want to go first?"

Noki shook her head, refusing his offer. "I will go last." Toad shrugged and waved to them as he ascended the stairs.

Kylie Koopa beckoned to him, giving him a huge smile. "So, Toad," she began, "As you probably already know, I'm not here to make small talk." She once again twirled the Mole's dossier in her hand. "I'm here because I have an offer for you."

Toad laughed a little, guessing what it was all about. "You're going to ask me how much I would pay to obtain the Mole's dossier?"

"Precisely," Kylie answered. "Bootler wasn't lying when he said that you were all sharp."

"I guess he didn't," Toad joked playfully. "Is there some kind of range I have to be aware of or something? Like, minimum and maximum bids?"

Kylie made an offhand gesture. "No, there's no minimum, and the maximum is obviously the wholeness of your team pot. So, how much would you think it's worth?"

Toad took a few seconds to analyze the dossier Kylie was holding in her hands, sizing it up. "Thirty thousand coins seem like a good price," Toad declared, his hands resting on the back of his head.

"Are you sure?" Kylie inquired. "I mean, once you're validating this answer, you won't be able to turn back."

"Mmmh... Yeah, I think it's enough. If I bet more, then the team pot will really take a hit whereas decreasing my bet is out of the question since I sincerely doubt the others' bet is something like five thousand coins," Toad described, explaining his train of thought.

**Toad** : People would be mad to only bid one thousand coins. We all know that the Mole's dossier is _very_ important. Well, the people in the first season didn't bid anything, but they weren't forced to in the first place.

Kylie scribbled something in her notebook before turning to Toad. "Fetch me Noki, please."

"Alright!"

Once Toad had informed her that Kylie wanted to see her, Noki made her way to the table Kylie was seating at. "What did you want to ask me?" Noki went straight to the point.

"This mission wasn't here for nothing, as you might have already understood. Its purpose was to introduce the Mole's dossier, which I'm holding on at the very moment." Kylie showed it to her before putting it back at its place. "Your job is to tell me how much you would pay to have it."

Noki bit her lip, the sight of the dossier was making her nervous. "Just how much is there inside?"

"Stuff that you should already know, like the sabotages the Mole did, and some more useful information."

Noki closed her eyes, considering the possibilities. "Having this journal would be nice, but I don't want to spend too much coins for it... I think twenty five thousand coins would be a good idea. That would be equivalent to the amount of money we could make in various challenges, so to me it's the best bid I can make."

"Are you one hundred percent sure?"

"Toad and Bootler might have bidden more, but that's a risk I'm not willing to take. I won't reconsider," Noki refused politely.

**Noki** : Yes, it is true that the Mole's dossier is the most valuable item of the whole game. But tell me, if no one was to open it, would I really need to worry about its contents? We would all be on the same boat.

As Noki went back to the first floor, Monty Mole approached the group, a sly smile on his lips. When he reached them, he put on his usual poker face. "Well, congratulations everyone, you impressed me during this challenge!"

Bootler, Noki and Toad clapped for their success. "How much time did we use to complete our mission?" Bootler questioned, eyebrow raised.

"You were close, but it wasn't enough. You spent exactly thirty two minutes and fifty four seconds before grabbing Kylie's arm, which means that you added fifteen thousand coins to your team pot! You barely missed the twenty thousand coins mark, however, you did add a good amount of money."

The players celebrated together their success, but Monty Mole was not finished yet.

"Which brings me to my second announcement. Your team pot now stands at two hundred eight thousand coins. You've reached the two hundred thousand mark! Bravo!"

Challenge's Results :

_Money Won : 20 000 - 5 000 = 15 000_

_Team Pot : 208 000 coins_

That was a lot of money and the players were all delighted to see that their efforts had paid off. However, Monty Mole still had something to say.

"Not to rain on your parade, but as you all know, Kylie Koopa-" The friendly Koopa appeared behind Monty Mole. "-asked you all the same question. Your bets were relatively close but we know who won the Mole's dossier," Monty Mole breathed deeply. "The Mole's dossier is the most precious thing in this game," The players nodded at his remark. "Or is it?"

Now, the players were baffled. They sent each other confused glances as they were not understanding their host.

"Yes, the Mole's dossier is precious, that's why you can't bid so little to obtain it. Which means that with twenty five thousand coins, Noki won't have the dossier."

Noki pouted lightly, already regretting her earlier choice.

"But the Mole's dossier isn't the most precious thing in this game. I would like you to remember that the experience you got, the friends you made and the fun you had were all more important than the final piece of this puzzle. And that is why, with a bid of thirty thousand coins, Toad won't have access to the dossier either."

Toad's expression darkened a bit.

"And that means that _you_, Bootler, will have the possibility to read this dossier. Being a player of high intelligence granted you that opportunity, and the addition of this single coin to your bid might have just won you the game. With a bid of twenty five thousand and one coins, Bootler, you won this price," Monty Mole announced in his usual grand voice.

"This item can change your game," Kylie winked mischievously.

"Should you choose to read the book, your bid will be deduced from the team pot. It's your call, Bootler," the host precised.

Noki and Toad decided to stand aside, watching their friend make the toughest choice of the game. Both were sighing, as they would have never thought that such a minor decision would be so crucial.

"Honestly, I thought it didn't matter how much I bade, but that's only because I thought I would get the dossier and refuse it," Noki told her friend.

Toad frowned. "Well, that's exactly what I was thinking. And Bootler probably did think the same way. But there's a big difference between a thought and an act, I just hope Bootler will make the right choice."

"As do I," Noki prayed silently.

**Toad** : Saying that I was disappointed was an understatement. I should have bet more carefully instead of giving a random amount of money. Bootler did think since he had the intelligence to add a coin to his original plain value...

**Noki** : This dossier has the possibility to ruin our friendship. I just want it to stay closed.

Bootler cast an evasive glance at his comrades before studying the dossier he was holding. "I shall be honest. My bad side is telling me to open this book. However, my good side is telling me that I do not particularly need it and that it would hurt my friends if I do open it. Entering this game, I thought I would be the second one out, but here I am with a chance of winning the whole adventure. The dossier would help me achieve my goals, however... I wish to play the game fair and square, like I did from the very beginning, and for that reason, I will not take this book," he soliloquized, giving back the dossier.

Monty Mole and Kylie Koopa complimented the old Boo who later rejoined with the two others, who were happy and proud of what their friends had done.

**Bootler** : I may have looked stupid and I do not care. I felt victorious, in my own way. As soon as I gave back the Mole's dossier to Monty, it was like I had gotten rid of a burden. Resisting the temptation was a nice feeling of accomplishment to me.

With that, the players and Monty departed from the library to their hotel, but not before Kylie gave a last advice to the players, and particularly the Mole.

"Congratulations everyone, if you made it this far, it means that you've correctly identified the Mole throughout this journey, don't let the truth obscure your path. And to the Mole, I'll tell you how I felt during the final. I knew they knew, like you possibly do. But knowing that fact shouldn't prevent you from doing your job and enjoying your time. Cheer up, the end is near in sight," she said as she did her trademark twirl and wink.

"Thank you!" replied the players at the same time. They waved to Kylie until they could not see her again.

As they made their way to their hotel, Noki suddenly realized something. "Wait, 'the end is near in sight'? Does that mean that our game isn't finished yet?"

"Of course it isn't!" Toad blurted out, making the others stare at him. "What?"

"You seem awfully sure of yourself," Bootler noted.

"It's a question of logic. There's someone missing in the picture. So far, we've seen Tanoo Kie, Boonty Ghoste and Kylie Koopa. Following this thread, our game isn't over yet, because we've yet to meet the second Mole."

"Lays Terryns," Noki whispered. "I wonder what kind of person he is..."

"I must say that I am looking forward to meet him. Kylie did not look like a saboteur either," Bootler smiled.

In front of them, Monty was smiling. "They really are something," he muttered to himself.

…

The next day, the players were eating their meal with Monty Mole and were particularly ecstatic. They knew that it was probably the last time they were eating at this restaurant together. They also knew that it was time to run the final home stretch, at long last. Their meeting with Kylie Koopa the previous day only reinforced their willpower and determination. For the players, it was time to end the Mole's reign. For the Mole, it was time to put as much doubt as possible in the others' mind.

"I'm going to miss the place," Noki giggled, before peeling an apple. "I mean, it's pretty, the hotel is cozy and there are many amiable people around here."

Toad nodded, drinking a glass of water. He put it down and added a remark. "What's more, the food is great."

"I concur," Bootler smiled, looking pleased. "Besides, this is a great touristic spot in my opinion. To be able to visit so many different places thanks to Warp Pipes is simply remarkable." He raised his glass in delight. "To our success!"

"To the Mole!" they all cheered at the same time.

**Noki** : Monty Mole was almost looking sad this morning, as if he were a little disappointed to see this game end. I guess it doesn't only affect us, once this is all over he'll have to find another game to host and the crew will have to look for other jobs as well. Or they might do yet another season. Who knows?

"Our challenge will start immediately after we're finished with our meal but you needn't worry, we aren't pressed by time," Monty Mole reassured them. "However, be sure that you will take your final quiz tonight."

"I'm almost having second thoughts about finishing the game," Noki laughed delicately.

"All good things have an end," Bootler whispered. He looked toward the window, catching a glimpse of their beautiful surroundings.

"Oh well, I'm not hungry anymore," announced the giddy Toad, "I'd rather play the last game right now."

Monty Mole raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Too bad, we were having a delicious Fruit Parfait for dessert... I guess you'll miss on it." Toad made a face, prompting everyone to laugh. "Just kidding! You can still have it," the host reassured him.

…

Monty Mole waddled toward a blue car that was used during the previous episode with the players right behind him. They were located before the many gates that connected the different lands together. The host rubbed his hands together as he finally spoke up.

"Players, this is your final mission," Monty Mole began, his voice becoming grave and serious.

"A car..?"

"Everything is explained in this envelope. This challenge is worth fifty thousand coins and is called 'Last Journey'. I have nothing else to tell you. Good luck, the challenge starts now." Monty Mole scampered off as fast as he could, leaving three very confused players behind him.

Still trying to understand what had just happened, the players just stood there, motionless, thinking that it was a joke and that Monty Mole would come back later to inform them of something. However, he did not come back, and the players had to do something.

**Bootler** : The feeling was quite strange. We were all wondering what we should do. Usually, Monty Mole always gives us hints or leads, but this time he gave us an envelope and left us. At that moment, I knew the challenge would be especially hard.

"Let's open it," suggested Noki. Toad nodded and ripped open the envelope, revealing a letter. Their instructions were on it.

Players, your final mission will have begun once you have opened this letter. In a matter of two hours, you must reach me with six specific items in hands, items you will collect doing various tasks in the different Party Lands that are linked to Pipetown. My location will remain a mystery, an enigma, just like the game you have been playing this whole time.

To collect the items, you must undergo several trials. Do not skip them, for your goal will become impossible if you do. Our crew will give you the items you need whether you win or lose the games they ask you to play. However, you should know that winning a challenge will benefit you, as your timer will increase. If you lose, then, you only lose time. Do not forget that you are currently located in the Party World, that should give you an idea as to what type of items you have to bring me.

Of course, this mission would be impossible to win if I did not give you an hint to begin with. However, I have already given you three hints, so you will not gain anything else by reading this letter. I wish you luck,

Monty Mole.

"We are in quite a predicament," Bootler noticed, frowning. "I have never heard anything that looked like an hint coming from Monty Mole's mouth. And apparently, we already have three hints at our disposal."

"We're, like, clueless with all the clues!" Toad exclaimed jokingly, earning a smile from his former coalition partner.

"Guys, stop fooling around and help me," Noki whined, not liking the lack of seriousness of her friends. "Monty Mole didn't bring us here for nothing, and he didn't bring this car here for nothing either. I'm thinking there's a connection somewhere."

"It does seem a little suspicious," Bootler agreed, inspecting the car. "Where are the keys?"

Noki crossed her arms, thinking deeply. "I don't know. There was nothing in Monty's letter."

"Well, we sure will not get anywhere without the keys of this vehicle," Bootler realized. "Should we start searching?"

"This might be the best idea," shrugged the blue-shelled inhabitant of Isle Delfino. The Boo and the Noki began to scrutinize the grass, looking for something shiny. Toad raised an eyebrow and decided to search the car.

The mushroom looked inside the exhaust pipe, thinking it was the best hiding spot in which the producers could have hidden the key. Toad sighed deeply when he saw that there was not a thing inside. He was going to help Noki and Bootler, when suddenly, he realized something.

**Toad** : 'Sometimes, the answer is right in front of your eyes.' Have you ever heard this sentence one day? It turns out that, once again, it was true. The answer was so obvious that we totally forgot about it.

Toad smiled hopefully as he put his hand on the handle of the car. He pulled it lightly and saw that his suspicions were right all along. "Guys! The car was unlocked! I think the key's inside!"

Noki and Bootler looked at each other, embarrassed, and shared a laugh. "Well, they sure fooled us," stated the old Boo, shaking his head. "Who will be driving?"

"I don't mind driving," Noki answered positively. Toad opened all the doors so that the others could look inside too. The three players then tried to find the keys. Bootler found them hidden under the driver's seat and gave them to Noki, who happily took her place. Out of pure politeness, Toad let Bootler take the passenger's seat.

"Let's go!" Noki cheered as she started up the vehicle. Adjusting the rear-view mirrors, she started to drive off when she suddenly stopped and braked. The others were questioning her actions. "Where to?"

"Yes, that is an extremely good question," Bootler scratched his chin, ashamed of his omission. "I suggest buying a map in a shop. We will definitely need to know which Warp Pipe we must take to reach the places of the challenges," he explained cleverly. "Navigation will definitely take an important part in this final ordeal."

Noki nodded and drove off toward a small kiosk. "Still, I wonder what other clues Monty gave us..."

…

Remaining Time : 1 hour and 48 minutes.

The blue car containing the group slowly halted in front of a shop. Noki pulled the hand brake and stopped the engine. "I shall go," Bootler declared suddenly. "I do not want to stay here doing nothing."

"Okay," Toad agreed. "Have fun!"

Bootler nodded and exited the vehicle silently, going straight to the shop. Meanwhile, Noki and Toad were discussing.

"Ugh, these sun visors are bothering me," Toad complained. "I can't even see the landscape because of them!"

Noki turned around in her seat, to face him. "You should remove them, because we might need you to look around in the future."

"Yes," Toad confirmed. He pulled on the sun visors and to his surprise, he broke them. "Uh-oh... I hope Monty won't deduct that from our pot. And I can't remove this stupid star!" he yelled, aggravated. "And what's smelling like that? It's awful."

Noki rolled her eyes. "Please Toad, you're behaving like a child." Sniffing the air, she quickly localized the source of the fouled smell. "This air freshener is what stinks."

"Please put it somewhere else," Toad begged. "I'm going to barf otherwise."

"Whatever you say..." Noki reached for the star-shaped air freshener and removed it from the central rear-view mirror. "As she was going to throw it out of the window, something caught her eyes. "What is this?" she asked, mostly to herself. Toad heard her and looked behind her shoulders.

"I don't think there should be-Wait! Wait! I know!" Toad exclaimed.

Noki smiled. "I believe it may be our next stop."

Toad tightened his grip on the star that was located on his windowpane and pulled as hard as he could. He finally managed to remove it. "I think we've finally managed to decipher Monty's second hint."

"Yes. We are in the Party World so we must collect a certain number of stars to resolve our 'problems'. And the stars located on this vehicle give us the location of the task we have to overcome," Noki summarized. Toad was surprised, but he quickly changed his expression and nodded happily.

**Toad** : Since when does Noki know so much about Mario Party and everything? I've never really told her what we were doing during our parties, how did she know? Either she made her researches or... Or it's something else.

"So... What is-" But Toad did not have to finish, as Bootler finally came back. The ghost opened the door and plopped onto his seat.

"I have the map. I apologize for the time I wasted, but I had to make sure that there was a map for each of the Party Land. I would not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere because of a single omission," Bootler justified quickly.

"Awesome!" cheered Toad.

"Let's try to find where we have to go!" Noki demanded. "Something's written on this star : '10 – Sea – DT VS'. And that's about it," she concluded, puzzlement written or her face.

Bootler rubbed his temples, wondering what the clue could be dealing with. "Mmmh... In my opinion, the first number tells us which gate we should take. The word 'Sea' could give us an even more detailed location, but I am clueless concerning the last four letters."

Noki nodded, confirming Bootler's suspicions. "I was thinking along these lines too. 'VS' could stand for...versus, but I'm clueless concerning 'DT'."

"Well, we have a map, right? Let's look these initials up!" Toad proposed, glancing at the map Bootler was holding. "But we should get a move on because we don't have that much time."

"Indeed," Bootler concurred, inquietude drawn on his face. "Thankfully, this little booklet I have here should tell us what is Gate ten..." He put his finger on the map, triumphantly. "There it is! The map says that this Land was used during Mario Party Advance." Bootler flipped the pages of the small book and showed them the map of Shroom City.

Noki was the first to understand the meaning of the letters. "Look! There's a thing called 'Duel Tower', I think it's our next destination."

"Likewise," Bootler smiled. "Let us go to Duel Tower," the ghost instructed, stroking his mustache. "I will give you directions, Noki. In the meantime, Toad, I want you to find another star-shaped object that could possibly serve as a clue." The mushroom boy responded with a wink.

Noki smiled as she started the engine. "Toad, you were in this car in the last episode, didn't you see where the stars were located?"

"Mmh, I was blindfolded," Toad remarked. Noki put her palm to her forehead.

"I had completely forgotten about that."

…

Remaining Time : One hour and sixteen minutes

Bootler, Noki and Toad were riding in a blue car provided by the production of The Mole. Thanks to Bootler's expertise in navigating across the land, they reached Duel Tower sooner than they expected. They stopped the car near the edge of the sea in a parking lot designed to this effect and went out of their vehicle.

**Noki** : Time is an important issue in this challenge, we definitely need to win some of the games they'll propose to us in order to inflate our timer, otherwise we simply don't stand a chance.

"Come on guys!" Toad hurried them. "We can't waste any time!"

"Well," Bootler puffed, "I can float, however, I am not the fastest being alive. You are younger than me and I have a hard time following you two."

**Bootler** : I knew this would be a close challenge, I am simply not fit for these games. I would have to be quick and efficient. The latter I can manage, I have always managed. But the former? Not so much.

They crossed a makeshift bridge, careful not to fall into the water, and ran toward the first floor. A Squeek called Mouser was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Hello people, I'm Mouser. I assume you're the players of the Mole?"

"Yes we are!" Noki replied joyfully.

The Squeek acknowledged Noki's claim with a nod and immediately began his explanations. "You're here at the Duel Tower, so you'll play Duel Mini-Games. There are three floor and three of you. Each of you will pick a floor and for each Duel that you win, ten minutes will be added to your timer. There is a reaction mini-game on the first floor, a fighting mini-game on the second floor, and a sports mini-game on the third floor."

"I will stay on the first floor," Bootler declared.

"I'll take the second one, if you don't mind," Noki stated.

"And that leaves me with the third one," Toad finished. Suddenly, he flinched. "Wait, Noki, you picked...?" Noki giggled.

"The games are harmless, aren't they? Besides, I want to try new things." Bootler and Toad glanced at each other, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh well, good luck," Bootler wished, concluding their exchange.

…

Bootler was led to a bright room. Before him, he saw a rotating panel as well as a machine with two levers. There was a gigantic hammer risen above his head, and Bootler silently wished he had not picked this mini-game. Nevertheless, he stayed brave and looked at the rules.

"Very well... If my picture appears on the panel over here, I have to pull the blue lever as fast as I can to damage my 'enemy'. However, if another picture appears, I have to pull the red lever to protect myself. This doesn't look that bad," he muttered to himself, looking anxious.

Soon, he heard a voice coming from above, indicating that the challenge had started. Focusing on the panel, Bootler looked at it until it stopped moving. It was his lucky day, his picture appeared first. With one swift motion and a battle cry, Bootler reached for the blue lever. "Take that!" shouted the Boo, as the gigantic hammer hit his opponent. "Oh, that will leave a mark..."

Since the two players had three lives, Bootler knew he could not let his guard down. However, he also knew that while his opponent had not suffered any damage, they were probably disoriented. "I shall use that as my advantage," Bootler smiled to himself.

The panel stopped, showing his opponent, a blue Goomba. Bootler panicked and pulled a random lever. He was lucky. His enemy tried to hit him with a hammer but it bounced back, flattening them. "Alright, one more time," Bootler soothed himself, growing confident in his own abilities.

Bootler stared at the panel, glancing from time to time at the blue Goomba. The picture stopped earlier than the two previous times, but Bootler was focused. As soon as he saw his glorious mustache, he pulled the blue lever, ending the game. "A perfect," he noticed calmly, dusting his hands and going back to the previous room, leaving a bewildered Goomba wondering how he could have lost to an old man.

…

Noki and Toad climbed the stairs to the second floor together, before Toad left for his own challenge. The blue-shelled girl went inside the tower and walked until she found her own duel place. In a rectangular area were disposed two gloves. Noki picked one and read the rules of the mini-games, conveniently placed on the right of the gloves.

"Your goal is to hit your opponent three times with a hammer. Using one of these gloves will provide you with an infinite supply of hammers, so please equip one. The hammers will always be thrown in the air and not directly at your adversary and only two of your hammers can be in the air at the same time. The gravity in this area is less important, you will feel lighter, it's normal. Good luck," Noki read rapidly, as she put on her glove. Jumping a little, she was amused to see that her skills had improved significantly. "Awesome!"

A green Blooper made her way toward the last glove and put it on. "Good luck!" she smiled.

"You too!" Noki returned the smile. As they wished each other luck, a voice announced that it was time to start.

Noki immediately threw a hammer in the air, just to see its trajectory, while the Blooper swiftly evaded the projectile, sidestepping carefully to her right. She retaliated by throwing two hammers in Noki's direction and the blue-shelled girl almost got hit. At the last second, Noki dived to her left, firing two more hammers toward the Blooper who easily avoided the first one by jumping back a little but was struck dead on my the second one, which trajectory differed a little. Noki used this time to stand up and run a fair distance from her adversary.

"Nice throw!" complimented the Blooper. Noki blushed a little and thanked her.

"Thank-Ack!" she shouted as a hammer hit her on the head. Narrowing her eyes, she threw herself at the Blooper who simply jumped in the air. But it was exactly what Noki wanted. As soon as the green octopus left the floor, Noki threw two hammers in her direction. With less gravity came less control of the players' jumps, and try as she might, the Blooper could not avoid Noki's hammers.

Grunting a little, the Blooper tried Noki's strategy. She ran at full speed toward Noki, who seemed to be helpless, and jumped back, firing two hammers during her flight. But Noki only faked being surprised, as she rushed forward, barely escaping the hammers, and repeated her previous action, easily defeating her foe. Showing sportsmanship, Noki helped her on her tentacles and shook one of them. "That was really funny!"

"Same here. It seems that I underestimated you. Well, I hope I'll see you around," waved the green octopus.

…

Toad climbed the last set of stairs and barged into the only room of the third floor. A volleyball net had been set up in the middle of the room, and two hammers were under the net, waiting for the two duelists. "Alright, I'm pretty good at volleyball!" Toad rubbed his hands together, feeling already victorious.

He approached a hammer, took it, and saw that a note was attached to its end. "Let's see... Your goal is to play volleyball with bob-bombs and hammers, if three bob-bombs fall on the floor which is on your side, you lose the game. Be careful, bob-bombs explode after a small amount of time, and if they explode in your side, it takes away one of your lives," Toad grinned. "This shouldn't be too hard."

A Hammer Bro nodded to him from the other side of the field. "I hope you're ready, 'cause I won't let you win."

Toad smirked in response, choosing an adequate position for this game. A voice shouted the word 'Start' and a bob-bomb fell on the Hammer Bro. He was quick to hit it and watched it fly toward Toad. The mushroom saw it coming and swung it back to the other side, grimacing a little for the Hammer Bro was really strong. However, in spite of his strength, he was a bit of an oaf and did not realize that Toad's counterattack would pass the net. The bob-bomb exploded on his part of the floor.

The next point went by quite fast. Toad expected a strong toss from the Hammer Bro, but he decided to make a weak hit. Toad was not fast enough to send the bob-bomb back and the red turtle scored.

Toad waited for the bob-bomb to fall on him and gave it a strong hit with his hammer, surprising the Hammer Bro who thought that, wit his puny arms, there was not much he could accomplish. Toad scored his second point and immediately darted to the middle of his part of the field. "One more point, I can do it..."

The red Hammer Bro used another tactic. Going for a strong hit, he knocked the bob-bomb away on the end of Toad's side. The mushroom saw it coming and got ready to send it back to the other side, action that he accomplished successfully. But then, his opponent hit the bob-bomb lightly, thinking Toad would not have time to sent it back. However, Toad proved him wrong as his fast legs carried him all the way to the inner part of his side, and with a jump, he smashed the bob-bomb on his opponent's side, claiming victory in the process.

"Wow," uttered the red turtle. "That was pretty...radical." He shook hands with Toad, ending their match.

"Good game to you too!" Toad exclaimed before leaving the room.

…

The players met up on the first floor of the tower and Mouser went toward them, a shiny yellow star in his hands. "Well, congratulations, players, for you have defeated the three duelists and won a star!" He handed them the power star and added another comment. "Also, thirty minutes were added to your timer! Well, good luck with your challenge!"

"Thanks!" Toad replied, absorbing the star in his hands.

Remaining Time : One hour and forty minutes

"Okay, let's go back to our car," Noki suggested.

"We should also try to look for the four other clues," Bootler reminded them as they walked or floated to their car. "One person should try to locate our next destination in the meantime."

**Noki** : So far, everything is great, no one sabotaged and we've managed to keep up our steady pace. I think we've made progress, but we have to be careful. An error could send us tumbling down the road. In a figurative way of speaking, of course.

**Toad** : Bootler and Noki looked like they enjoyed their mini-games. I thought they would have had more troubles than that, but oh well, I can't always be right.

Noki opened the car, and she and Toad began to look for the other clues, while Bootler took his seat, trying to resolve the clue Toad had found earlier. "'1 – YI – H20meloen.' This one is rather easy," Bootler commented, flipping through the pages of his booklet. "'YI' for Yoshi's Island, I suppose, and I would assume that the last word is 'Watermelon', that would make sense."

Meanwhile, Noki was inspecting the trunk of the car whereas Toad decided he would look for clues outside the vehicle. The inhabitant of Isle Delfino pushed many things aside for the trunk was cluttered. Something yellow caught her eyes in a red toolbox. "I think I have one!" she called out to the others as she reached for the star.

"Me too!" Toad exclaimed suddenly, showing his discovery. "It was in the wheel spokes!"

"Very well then, let us get a move on," Bootler demanded, already determining the shorter route to their destination. "I have our next location."

Toad and Noki entered the vehicle, and after they had all fastened their seat-belts, the group left for Yoshi's Tropical Island.

* * *

_Next part the players get a little wet and a mistake is made._

_I put a new poll on my profile, this time including only the three finalists with the question that everyone is asking themselves (or not) : Who is the Mole? I would be very pleased if you could vote. ^^_

_Additionally, I have put a link on my profile which will give you the first page of the Mole's dossier (located under the story progress). Now, you can't click on it so you just have to copy/paste it in the bar on the top of your screen and try some other codes in the end. Each page should give you a clue, you don't need all of them to resolve the mystery. Don't forget the (dot) jpg at the end of the link, otherwise it won't work._

_And...that's it! Have a nice day!_

_Until next time._


	32. Hot and Cold

**Shilo Burbans** : Hmm... I'm thinking you might have mistaken Noki for a player in Krisetchers' story, because I remember that one of his questions involved joining a cult dedicated to violence and I don't think that was the case in this story. ^^ Don't worry for your lateness, I always enjoy reading your comments. Thanks and good luck with your own story! (I hope you'll have time to continue it soon) ^^

**Cyan Comet** : I'm sorry to hear about your tests. I hope you didn't fail them, it might be an impression only, you know. I often thyink I screwed up but in the end I'm doing just fine. I hope it'll be the case for you too. Thank you for your review and good luck for your story. (I saw your author note)

**Cyan Comet (2)** : Well, you have eight pages but you're not forced to find them all. One hour for the last clue ? Did you get the seven other pages? Some of them contain clues which can help you. Sorry I didn't update soon, but this is almost the end of this episode! Soon, we'll find out about the Mole. ^^

**Kokiss** : Merci d'avoir laissé un commentaire et répondu à ma requête, mais tu sais déjà tout cela étant donné que nous en avions discuté sur le forum. Content que le choix des personnages t'intéresse et merci pour ce commentaire en général. On atteint bientôt la barre des cent ! Hakima croit en nous. XD

* * *

Previously, on the Mole, the players were all tempted by Kylie Koopa. The very first Mole had the Mole's dossier in her hands, and she asked each player how much they would pay to obtain this valuable item. Bootler won it thanks to the extra coin he had bidden, but he refused to look at the dossier, keeping the twenty five thousand and one coins into the team pot. With that out of the way, Monty Mole told the players that they had won fifteen thousand coins during the last challenge, bringing the amount of money in the pot to two hundred eight thousand coins. The next afternoon, Monty Mole gave the players an envelope and disappeared immediately, their final mission was to reach him with six items in their hands. The players first decided to buy a map, once they had found their way inside the car. Afterward, they discovered that star-shaped objects hidden within the car would lead them to a series of locations where stars were awaiting them. The first location they inspected was the Duel Tower of Mario Party Advance. There, each player fought against an opponent and eventually triumphed, winning the first star.

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

32 : Hot and Cold

Remaining Time : One hour and twenty minutes

A blue car shoot out from a green Warp Pipe onto the sandy island. The blue Noki behind the steering wheel stopped the car to look at her surroundings. The sand of the island was pure and white, the vegetation luxuriant, the water crystal clear. The players could see many young Yoshi playing in the water, splashing their friends, eating fruits and relaxing. There were also a few Birdo tanning on the sand, looking out for the smaller creatures. The scene was so mesmerizing that Bootler had to waved in front of Noki's face so that she would get out of her trance.

**Noki** : Yoshi's Tropical Island was sooo pretty... I wish we could have stayed longer... The place is so much more natural than Isle Delfino. I definitely want to come back here once this game is over.

"Noki, do you hear me?" Bootler called out loudly, trying to get her attention.

Noki suddenly snapped out of her confused state and smiled to Bootler. "Oh, sorry... It's just... This is so beautiful... And it reminds me of Isle Delfino," she justified, giving yet another smile. "So, what did you want to tell me about?"

"We need to take a right to get to the other part of this island," Bootler explained, giving her precise instructions. "Our next star should be there."

Noki nodded, starting the car once again in response. "You're right, we have no time to waste. Let's go!"

"Hey! I found another star!" Toad grinned happily, reaching for the item.

"Where was it?" Bootler questioned.

"It was glued in the cigar lighter space," Toad told him, leaning forward to catch the star. "I got it, only one more to go!"

"We're doing great!" Noki could not help but exclaim.

"Yeah," Toad agreed. " Though I think it would have been better if we had been this good during the other challenges. We screwed up a _lot_," the mushroom added, emphasizing the last word.

"It could not be helped," Bootler remarked. "We had a Mole in our group. Oh, and we have arrived, you can stop, Noki."

Bootler, Noki and Toad escaped from their vehicle rapidly and looked around. A gigantic melon was situated on their right. Toad looked at a spot he used to occupy, smiling to himself. "Ah, Melon Island. Sweet memories... And sour ones. I still don't get why I had to be spat on the other island by Bubba each time the players walked on a happening space," Toad rambled.

Bootler put his hand to his mouth. "What is it that you mean, Toad? We are on Watermelon Island, aren't we?"

"Mmh... Actually, the big green fruit that you see is a melon, not a watermelon," Noki pointed out. "Why does it matter to you?" Bootler flipped through the maps of his booklet until he saw Yoshi's Tropical Island.

"I am very sorry, it seems that I made a mistake. We were supposed to stop near a huge watermelon, and I suppose I mistook the two fruits together." Noki and Toad looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

**Noki** : How is it possible to mix up a melon and a watermelon? Okay, they're green and round, but that's their only similarity! I can't believe Bootler made such a blatant mistake, if that's not a sabotage.

**Toad** : Yeah, that was kind of weird since Bootler often pays attention to details... But who am I to blame him? I bet I made more mistakes during this journey.

"Well, let's hurry back to the other side of the island. Thankfully, it's not that big so we should be able to make for lost time," Toad demanded, hopping back inside the car.

Noki nodded and quickly started up the engine, determined to make it on time. The players fastened their seat-belt and the car drove off toward the other island. Careful not to scare the children, Noki maneuvered calmly and reached the other side in five minutes. The contestants were a little worried, they hoped that their mistake did not cost them the win. Emerging from the car, they immediately saw a banner with the logo of The Mole and a blue Birdo wearing a pretty white hat with a light blue ribbon on it.

"Good afternoon, the name is Francesca," she greeted warmly. "May I ask you to follow me to your challenge?"

"Sure!" Noki smiled. Toad glanced at the Birdo as if he had seen her before. He finally settled for a nod of the head.

"It would be our pleasure," Bootler answered politely. The final three contestants and Francesca boarded a small boat. Two muscular and red Yoshi were paddling to bring them to their next task. Francesca took this opportunity to explain to the players the rules of the mini-game.

"You will be playing Mushroom Mix-Up. One of these two will play against you while the other will be the flag holder. Your goal will be to stay on the mushroom platform of the color of the flag that the red Yoshi will be holding. You will have a few seconds to make it to the right platform, for the others are going to sink after a while. The last one standing wins the game. Winning this mini-game will grant you a star as well as an addition of twenty minutes to your timer."

In the distance, the players could see seven mushrooms protruding from the sea, as well as a white one situated above. "I hope we'll win!" Noki worried.

"Oh, and after a while, the mushrooms sink faster. You should be aware of that."

"Oh, brother!" Bootler lamented.

"This should be fun!"

The boat finally made it to the white mushroom. One of the red Yoshi tied the boat to the white mushroom thanks to a rope and climbed a ladder to reach the top of the mushroom platform. He jumped on the other platforms and waited on the black mushroom. "Follow him, I'll be the one holding the flags," the other Yoshi said.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Come on, Bootler, stop being such a worrywart!" Toad chided. "It's a fun game."

"I still think I will not be able to win it," Bootler countered. "However, I shall give it a try."

"That's the spirit," Noki encouraged him lightly. Soon, they were all pulled up to the central platform and waited anxiously for the beginning of the game. A disembodied voice shouted the word 'Start' from above, word they took as a cue to begin the game.

The red Yoshi started with a green flag. The players and the Yoshi all managed to make it to the green platform in time, before the other mushrooms sank. "Well, that was not too bad," Bootler noted, pleased with the game.

"True," Noki answered.

"Oh well, you can't expect us to go all out at the very beginning," the red Yoshi taunted slightly. The platforms emerged from the water and the red Yoshi ran toward the red platform while the players stayed where they were.

"What is he doing?" Noki wondered as the flag-wielder held up a cyan flag. The red Yoshi walked toward the platform of the same color easily, but the players had to hurry to reach it. Toad and Noki decided to go to the left part of the cyan mushroom while Bootler went to its right. Bootler easily made it, but that was not the case of Noki and Toad.

"Ah!" Noki shouted as she hit the water. "You pushed me, Toad!" she yelled angrily as she swam toward Francesca's boat.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" Toad apologized, holding his hands up in the air. "It's just that... I was trained that way, this is how we usually play the game! Sorry!"

**Toad** : I really didn't mean to, I swear! At the time I didn't even realize that I was pushing her off the platform. But seriously, that's how the game is played.

**Noki** : Toad is _so_ going to get it.

This time, when the mushrooms all emerged from the water, Bootler and Toad followed the red Yoshi's lead and walked to the black mushroom. Suddenly, the flag-wielder showed a navy blue color, prompting the other red Yoshi to jump on Toad so that he would reach the right mushroom sooner than his opponents. In his precipitation, Toad pushed Bootler aside and tripped over his own feet, making the both of them stumble into the water.

"Err... Absolutely sorry about that," Toad muttered, ashamed of himself. Bootler merely arched an eyebrow before swimming toward the boat, Toad right on his tail. Noki smirked a little on the boat as she crossed her arms.

"Serves you right!"

**Bootler** : I must admit that it was quite strange. I can understand that he panicked, but he pushed both Noki and myself into the water... We are now all drenched to the skin and soaking wet, which is not a nice feeling. In addition to that, we lost the opportunity to add a twenty minutes to our timer, so we had to hurry up.

Once the two males had reached the boat, they were hoisted aboard by the two strong Yoshi who were laughing at their misfortune. Francesca let out a small giggle as well and gave them the second star. "Here you go. Unfortunately, you did not win the challenge, so I cannot reward you with twenty additional minutes."

"This sucks."

"Indeed."

"Totally."

The rest of the voyage was made in silence, as the three players were bummed and were thinking about what their next destination would be. Once they finally docked, they hopped off the boat onto the sandy beach and rushed toward their vehicle. This time, it was decided that only one person would look for the last star-shaped item, while the other two would decipher the clues and determine their next destination. Toad opted for the search while his friends decided to prepare their route.

"Let's take a look at the next clue," Noki suggested as Bootler showed her the little stars he had stored in the compartment situated in front of the passenger's seat. He nodded and read what was written on one of them.

"It says '5 - BN – Left Spike'... Mmmh... The first number indicates that we will find our destination behind door number five..."

"What's behind door number five?" Noki asked, tilting her head at the same time. Bootler turned the pages of his booklet and let out a small yelp of terror.

"Well... Bowser's Nightmare seems to be our next destination," he answered in a hushed tone, seemingly uncomfortable. "Dream of unbearable heat and boiling lava."

"Oh boy," Noki could not help but utter, astonishment written on her face. "Is it even safe?"

Bootler shrugged. "I would assume so. We might be provided with heat-resistant gear."

Suddenly, Toad shouted loudly. "Guys, I found the last one!" He ran toward them to show them the last star. "I think we have the complete set!"

"Six stars, six destinations... I guess you're right," Noki thought aloud. "Why don't you look for the other destination while I drive to Bowser's Nightmare?"

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "But I have not even told you about our precise destination. You will have a hard time finding our next stop if you do not even know where we are going," Bootler pointed out, a suspicious look on his face.

**Bootler** : I believe that she might have tried to diverse our attention so that she would be free to lead us astray from our true path. If I had not been focused, I would have probably said that it was a good idea and we would have been on our way. A sly tactic for a sly person.

"So, let's not waste any more time," Toad told them. "Where are we headed to?"

Bootler furrowed his brow as he stared at his map. Finally, he smiled to himself, a content look on his face. "Well, I believe we need to find the left tower. See, it seems to have a spiky top, which is why I think it what the clue is referring to. To make it there, you simply have to take a left at the first junction."

"Okay, will do!" Noki cheered, starting the car and driving off to Bower's Nightmare.

…

Remaining Time : Fifty two minutes

Noki was driving as fast as she could without breaking the law toward the left tower of Bowser's Nightmare. The players had only been in this Party Land for a few minutes, and yet, the heat was already too much for them. Toad was the one who took it the best, but he was used to this kind of extreme party boards.

"Wow! Careful Noki!" Bootler ordered suddenly, as he looked through his window on the right of the car.

"I think we bumped into something," Toad declared, hanging on his seat for dear life because of Noki's driving.

"Well excuse me but I'm doing my best," Noki retorted, rolling her eyes. "Stop acting like wimps, I'm sure you've had wilder rides in the past."

Bootler glanced at the side of the road, then at Noki, who was on his left. "You might want to be more careful though, for I think there are spikes protruding from the security rails. I would definitely not want our car to be damaged because of those," the ghost worried.

"Yes, but I have to drive on the right side of the road. If another car comes toward us fast while I'm driving in the middle of the road... I don't want to imagine what would happen, then," Noki explained carefully.

Toad laughed. "Well, I'm pretty sure it would truly be our Final Destination!" Bootler and Noki stared at him thanks to the rear-view mirrors in an annoyed way. Toad suddenly felt like shutting his mouth. "I was joking!"

"That wasn't funny."

"I hope you did not jinx us."

**Toad** : Sheesh, can't they take a joke?

"I think we're nearing the tower," Noki announced. In the distance, they could see a gigantic board with the logo of the game, confirming that they were on the right track. "I hope we aren't too late," Noki prayed as she stopped the car.

Bootler stroked his mustache, not alarmed in the slightest. "I did not keep track of the time, however I think Monty Mole would have already told us if our mission had been a failure. Like he did in Mario's Rainbow Castle."

The players all got out of the car and walked at a fast pace toward the tower where they were greeted by a Dry Bones wearing a black bow-tie. "Hello, I presume you are from The Mole?"

"Yes we are!" Toad replied cheerfully.

The Dry Bones grinned. "Okay then, follow me to your next mini-game!" He led them into one of the darkest room of the tower, where an arena shaped like a circle was all that there was. The Dry Bones opened the door of this arena and let the players walk in, as well as a yellow Hammer Sis. He then locked the door and began the preparations of the mini-game.

"So, hmm, what are we supposed to do?" Noki wondered aloud, as nobody had told them the rules of this task.

"You'll be playing the mini-game All Fired Up, and you basically have to avoid getting burnt by the Podoboo," explained the Hammer Sis. They were surprised to hear her voice since they had not noticed her at all. "Your goal is to beat me or to survive until the end of the game. If you manage to beat me before time's up, then thirty minutes are added to your timer. If at least one of you survives 'till the end, then twenty minutes are added to your timer. Got it?"

"Are we really going to do this?" Bootler stammered, very anxious about this challenge.

"Don't worry Bootler, it will only sting a little," Toad waved him off. "I'm familiar with the feeling, if you must know, because there are other mini-games where I got hit a Podoboo and as you can see I'm not dead yet."

**Noki** : I must admit that I was nervous at first, but Toad made it sound like it was nothing, so that was reassuring. I really hope Mario will stay true to his words and invite us to the next Mario Party like he had suggested when he was still in the game.

"So, what's the strategy?" Toad questioned. "Are we going for twenty or thirty minutes?"

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea," Bootler stated, still surprised by the requirements of the challenge.

Noki took a few steps toward them and beamed. "I say we go for thirty. I don't know how hard this game is but it shouldn't be that hard to push the girl into a Podoboo, while trying to survive could be tiresome and difficult."

"How do you suggest we push her into the fire? I trust you have a plan?" Bootler inquired, arms crossed. "I doubt this fine Koopa will let us push her around without retaliating. Besides, she is not here for nothing. I would bet that she is very experienced."

"The game will begin shortly," came the voice of the Hammer Sis from behind. The players decided that it was better for them to get started for the challenge. They mimicked the Hammer Sis and stood near the barrier of the arena, when suddenly a familiar voice shouted 'Start' and the game began.

A rain of Podoboo flooded the center of the arena, the players all decided to go along the security rail in order to not get touched by the fiery flames whereas the Hammer Sis stood in place watching intently their formation. The Podoboo then returned to the center of the arena and left the players dubious. "What the heck is happening? The game's over already?" Toad interrogated the other players who were as confused as he was.

"I doubt i-Oh my god!" Bootler yelled in a rare moment of surprise. The Podoboo had formed a circle which was expanding rapidly toward them. The Hammer Sis stood in place whereas Toad charged forward and jumped over the obstacle. Noki and Bootler followed, eventually joined by the Hammer Sis.

"Hey! That's a perfect occasion! Let's push her!" Noki suggested in a small yell. Toad smacked his forehead when he saw that the Hammer Sis had taken several steps away from the group. "Whoops."

**Bootler** : We had the perfect opportunity, but Noki ruined it. It is hard not to call that a sabotage.

"Well, now she knows what our true intentions are, so... We'll have to improvise," Toad sighed. "And we-Oh, look out, they're coming back!" Toad and Noki successfully jumped over the circle of fire, but Bootler mistimed his jump and ended up hopping on the Podoboo. A second after that, he let out a scream and was ejected from the arena.

"Oh, that must have hurt," Noki commented, wincing, as she saw Bootler's flight. "But we still need to end this game as fast as possible," she whispered as she approached Toad.

"Yeah, I know that!" he responded while jumping over a dangerous Podoboo.

"How about we try to pressure her? If we circle her, she'll have nowhere to go, right?"

"Well, this is a very good idea, except that we're two and we can't surround her."

They stopped talking as they saw the Podoboo going toward the center of the arena. They formed a cross of fire which was very hard to avoid. Toad and Noki did not have much space to maneuver since they were together in less than a fourth of the arena. A quick change of rotation from the cross almost got them, but thankfully they jumped back in the nick of time.

"Well that was a close call if I ever saw one," Noki grinned slightly, as the Podoboo finally returned to the center for a third time. "I think we can't do anything with this formation."

"Yeah, too risky," Toad approved. "Let's move while we can!"

The Noki and the Toad ran in opposite directions when suddenly, the Podoboo created yet another formation : a rope of fire. Unfortunately for the three remaining players, the rope was right behind them. Noki was on one half of the arena while Toad and the Hammer Sis were on the other half. Then, everything happened quickly.

Toad took this opportunity to jump on the Hammer Sis, but since the both of them were trying to push each other in the Podoboo, they never really realized that it was very close and they got burnt by the flames. However, almost simultaneously, a Podoboo touched Noki's rear and she flew along with Toad and the Hammer Sis, outside of the arena.

…

"Who won?" an anxious Noki asked, knowing full well that the success of their challenge depended on the addition of the thirty minutes to their timer. Bootler and Toad were as hopeful as she was.

"Well... We don't know actually," answered the Dry Bones, pacing back and forth. "We think your mini-game ended up in a draw, so there's no true winner. However, Monty Mole decided that you would be awarded with the full thirty minutes to your timer, so you can thank him for that."

Remaining Time : One hour and sixteen minutes.

The players were ecstatic and celebrated their win until they were reminded that they had a challenge to complete. Toad grabbed the star and absorbed it as the final three went back to their car, looking for their next destination. Noki sat at the steering wheel, Bootler to her right and Toad behind her on the backseat, as per usual.

Bootler took a star in his hand and inspected it. It read '6 – SL – CL'. Nodding to himself, he opened the map booklet. "This time, it seems like we need to go to Snowflake Lake located behind Gate Six. However, I do not know what 'CL' could mean," he explained, his mustache twitching.

"Show me the map," Toad demanded, taking it from Bootler's hand. "Okay, so what here could be abbreviated 'CL'?" he asked mostly to himself. "Definitely not the snowmen, not the Chomp, not the ice rink..." He furrowed his brow, only to smile a few seconds afterward. "Could it be the Chair Lift? I'm guessing it is," he told the others, handing Noki the booklet.

The inhabitant of Isle Delfino looked at it thoroughly. "I don't see anything else that could have 'CL' as its initials, so we might as well go check it out," she declared, starting the car. Bootler took the map and started to give her directions.

**Toad** : In spite of my minor screw up during Mushroom Mix-Up, we managed not to waste that much time. It was all thanks to Bootler and his ingenious plan to get a map before even starting the challenge, but at the same time, I noticed that he wasn't helping much. I mean, he was pretty much sitting on his seat the entire time. Well, Noki didn't help much either, we almost lost last challenge because of her yelling our plan.

…

Remaining Time : One hour and one minute.

Noki was driving the car with some difficulties. Somehow, the car was always going to her left and she constantly tried to keep control of it, but it was starting to confuse the three of them. They were nearing their destination when a Mr. Blizzard wearing a police uniform halted their car and asked them to get out. The players were not reassured one bit and already, a thousand questions were popping in their mind.

**Noki** : We were on our way to the chair lift when this Mr. Blizzard arrested us. I really thought we were going to jail or something. I mean, just the uniform is already intimidating, so when a policeman arrests you, the fear increases tenfold.

"What did we do?" Bootler wondered aloud.

"Did we drive over the speed limit?" Toad inquired.

"Or did we drive over someone?" Noki added quickly. The policeman could not help but chuckle.

"Not at all, but I can't let you drive in these conditions. You have a flat tire." The Mr. Blizzard beckoned to them and showed them the deflated tire. It was the rear one located on the left of the vehicle.

"That's why the car was a little hard to handle," Noki realized instantly.

"I would assume so," Toad replied, uneasy. "But what are we supposed to do now? We're in a game and we have to get going otherwise we'll lose our final mission. Can't we just say that you've seen nothing and be on our way?"

The Mr. Blizzard noticed the cameraman following our three finalists and smirked a little. "No, that won't do. One, I'm doing my job. Two, I don't want to be fired. Three, and it's the most important point, it isn't safe for you to continue driving in these conditions. You have to fix it."

"I also believe it would be the best course of action," Bootler nodded, pleased with the policeman's attitude. "Why would we not go to the chair lift by foot? We are almost there. Meanwhile, one of us could stay here to fix the car. What do you say?"

"Is it allowed? So far, the three of us had to play in a mini-game to win time and stars," Noki remarked, looking at Bootler suspiciously. The old Boo shook his head, shrugging at the same time.

"We will not know until we try."

"It's okay Noki, you can go with Bootler, I'll stay here to change the tire. Have fun!" Toad smiled before addressing a final nod to the policeman who decided to leave them afterward. The mushroom opened the trunk and took the spare tire.

"I guess we're leaving, then," Noki tried hesitantly, before following Bootler who was already on his way. "Oh god, we're freezing!"

"Let us make haste!"

…

Remaining Time : Forty-Eight Minutes

The Boo and the Noki rode the chair lift and easily stepped down when they reached the ski resort. Analyzing the field of snow before them, they did not know where to go until Noki spotted a green flag in the distance.

"Bootler, I see it! On the left of that chalet!" she yelled as she ran toward her destination, Bootler hot on her tail. The two players reached the flag and looked around, but there was no sign of any producer.

"Did we misinterpret something?" Bootler wondered, sitting on a wooden plank.

"There's a green flag here, though," Noki pointed out. The two of them glanced at the flag a few seconds doing nothing, when Bootler spoke up.

"However, there is nothing written on it, unlike the previous flags and boards," he noticed. "Is it really the place we are looking for?"

**Bootler** : I was very skeptical. Something being green does not always mean that it is related to the Mole. Furthermore, it was definitely not in Noki's habits to jump to conclusions like that. I thought there was more to it.

"I see someone waving to us in the distance," Noki commented as she stared at the person who was motioning for them to come, shielding her eyes from the sun. "Might as well see what they want, don't you think?"

Bootler nodded and stood up. The two of them walked at a fast pace toward the waving person who was actually an Eerie who was wearing an icy blue bonnet. "Hey, you're from the Mole?"

"Yes, indeed," came Bootler's reply.

"Then follow me, your mini-game awaits you! I thought you'd be three, but oh well, we can still play it. You'll just have less chances to win it," the Eerie told them as then went down a narrow path, careful not to slip. The Eerie smiled as he faced them. Bootler and Noki glanced at each other worriedly.

"This mini-game is called 'Avalanche!'. All you have to do is ski down the slope and reach the final jump first to win the game and add twenty minutes to your timer. Since there are only two of you, one additional player will compete against you, did you get it?"

"I'm kind of wondering why this game is called 'Avalanche'..."

"Oh well, because your goal is to escape an avalanche, my dear!"

"Are you serious about that?" a flabbergasted Bootler asked. "I do not think that it is safe."

"Nonsense! It's a popular attraction around here! So sure, it can hurt a little, but you'll never die. The avalanche isn't too big, so you can breath even if it touches you, and as soon as you're touched, you'll basically roll down until you land on a cushioned floor. Trust me, I've seen no accident in five years of work." The Eerie took a deep breath and tipped his hat. "Besides, Monty Mole wouldn't allow you to do something risky."

**Bootler** : We were doing all these crazy things, things that I would not have imagined doing in my life before entering this game. This, is the magic of the Mole. It is too bad that Toad was not with us at the moment because I am quite sure he would have liked to play with us.

**Noki** : Escaping an avalanche? Are you kidding me? And the man said it so casually... Wow, Mario Parties must be fun...

Bootler put on red skis and took matching red ski poles while Noki equipped blue ones. Once they were settled, they glided toward the beginning of the slope, griping tightly the iron barriers which prevented them from falling before the start of the game.

"I must say that I am somewhat nervous," Bootler dared. "I have never skied in my life."

Noki's eyes grew wide. "Really? I'm not much of a skier either. Let's just hope that we'll win this challenge otherwise..." she trailed off, unsure.

"Yes, I understand what you mean," Bootler agreed. "We will do our best."

The Eerie from before came back and told them that the race would begin shortly, however, Noki and Bootler did not hear him. They barely heard the familiar voice saying 'Start' and gave their opponents – a red Cheep Cheep wearing a cowboy hat and a Monty Mole with a big brown mustache – a head start.

"Holy mackerel!" Bootler mumbled to himself as he realized that the others had started before him. Tempting a look behind him, he realized that the snow was approaching him dangerously. He started using his ski poles frenetically, however he was not used to them and, in an off-guard moment, he did not catch sight of a snowman and went straight for it. Bootler was so dazed that he did not have the time to pull himself together and was swallowed up by the avalanche.

**Bootler** : That hurt slightly. I really was not proud of my performance, I thought I could have done a better job if I had paid attention in this challenge.

Meanwhile, Noki was faring way better than Bootler. She was in the lead as the Monty Mole hit a rock and started rolling down the slope, and she knew that the Cheep Cheep was way behind her. She swerved to her right, carefully avoiding another rock, and then glided on her left, her shoulder brushing against a snowman. "I'm having so much fun!" she shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

Noki used her ski poles in order to gain momentum, however, she did not realize that her speed would hinder her path changes and what had to happen happened : as she noticed a ski jump, she tried to correct her direction so that she would jump in a straight line, but since she was picking up so much speed she could not turn as easily as she wanted and the ski jump propelled her into a snowman, which definitely halted her progress.

**Noki** : Oh my, it was so exhilarating! Definitely a unique experience, and I'll gladly do it again in the future. Knowing that you are safe from any harm also helps enjoying this game.

Thus, with no one else around, the Cheep Cheep won the mini-game.

…

Bootler and Noki landed with a big thud, and it was a little shaken that they met up with the Eerie, now at the bottom of the slope. "I'm sorry, but you didn't win, unfortunately," he announced gravely. "However, you still get this star for trying! I hope you're not too groggy!"

Remaining Time : Thirty Eight minutes.

Bootler gladly accepted the star and shook hands with the Eerie. "This was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, we must get going. Farewell!" Noki nodded politely and followed the old Boo. Together, they went back to their car, only to meet Toad halfway through.

"Hey guys!" he greeted them animatedly. "What did you do?" he questioned, stopping the car and letting Noki take her seat back.

"It was great! We had to tear down a mountain with an avalanche right behind us!" Noki responded excitedly.

"Awesome! Did you receive a star?" Bootler nodded and handed him the object.

"I do not know how you absorb it," the ghost justified himself quickly. Toad took it in his hands and it disappeared from their view.

"How did it go?" asked Toad.

"Well, about that... We lost the mini-game," Bootler confessed.

"It was really hard since we're not used to skiing," Noki added afterward.

"Oh..." Toad muttered, seeming disappointed. "Well, I guess it's time to give it our all!"

**Toad** : I was a little bummed because I wasn't sure we'd have enough time to make it to the finish line. Especially since we still had two other mini-games to partake in. We could kiss our fifty thousand coins goodbye if we lost one of them.

"Toad, do you still have the little stars we found in the car?" Bootler questioned, opening his booklet where figured the different maps of the Party Lands.

Toad gave him the remaining two stars. "Here you go."

"Let us start with this one," he stated, choosing the one in his left hand. "It reads '4 – GGG – PA', so obviously we need to go to Gate Four... Then, I assume the triple 'G' stands for 'Goomba's Greedy Gala' and 'PA' for Pink or Purple Area.," he explained calmly. "The casino being split into four parts, I suppose this is our next stop."

"Okay, I'm fine with that," Toad smiled. Noki nodded and began driving back to Pipetown.

"If we hurry up, we still have a chance!"

* * *

_This is the fifth chapter of the last episode, and it's very likely that the next chapter will be the final quiz. I was thinking of adding a part to the challenge, but then thought against it. I would only make the story longer and isn't very relevant._

_I've also been quite lucky, because, counting the worth of the different challenges, I realized that the players could have won a total of five hundred thousand coins in all (that is, excluding the bribe Flurrie took, but that doesn't really count as money the team could make)._

_I also wanted to thank you for voting on my polls and reviewing, it really pleases me so much when I see people interested in this kind of story. Not to say that it doesn't please me when it's about parodies, but a mystery will only be good if it's a mystery and when different people have a different point of view on the matter. ^^_

_I've also made a cover for this story (located on my profile, just after the summary for the story), however there is no clue on it. I know that I screwed up some characters (Birdo's ring is on the wrong finger (you can't see it but...) and Kooper's bandage isn't visible ). _

_And that's about it! I'll probably leave the poll until the revealing, so you can still vote if you didn't. And root for your favorite character. ^^_

_Until next time!_


	33. The Mystery Ends

**Charz** : You hate 'Avalanche!'? Lol, I love this mini-game even though it's way too easy now since the layout of the course never changes. All you have to do is spam the A button and position yourself so you won't hit any rock and you won. I lol'd at your remark about Toad. XD Well, thank you for your review and congratulations for beating Champ in your little TAR competition. XD

**Guest** : Mmmh, I didn't really get what you were saying, but maybe there was a misunderstanding. When I said 'end of the adventure', I was actually thinking about the 'end of the game', reunion show not included. And yes, I might make a second story though I'm not really sure. It takes a lot of time after all. Thanks for your review. ^^

**Champ** : Lol, yeah, exactly. I actually decided to execute Jojora because she wasn't very liked and wasn't really suspicious to people, while Bootler, Noki and Toad were all suspected more or less heavily at one point of the adventure. It wouldn't be fun if there was a final with the super suspicious Mole and two Mario. XD I'll give you the result of your quiz at the beginning of the next chapter if you take it. XD Thanks for the review!

**Cyan Comet** : Lol, I didn't get the new system either until a week ago. I thought unregistered people were now forced to have the username 'Guest'... *facepalm* Yes, I don't know why, but I never put the name of a species in plural, it just doesn't feel right to me. Maybe because most of the time, I consider there is the Yoshi people and the Yoshi, for example. Since the name of a species in the derivative of the name of a character, I don't put 's' at the end of the words. I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the review!

* * *

Previously on the Mole, the players were still looking for stars that they would later bring to Monty Mole at an unknown location, hoping to add fifty thousand coins to their team pot. After they had completed their task at the Duel Tower, they were off to Yoshi's Tropical Island to play a round of 'Mushroom Mix-Up'. Unfortunately, once there, Bootler misdirected the team, mistaking the two parts of the island. During the mini-game, it was Toad who made the team fail, pushing his friends into the water before taking a plunge himself. Now in possession of their second star, the group located Bowser's Nightmare and drove to the left tower of this bad dream in order to play a game of 'All Fired Up'. This time, Noki blurted out the plan the players had come with and jeopardized their situation, but the team redeemed itself and won the mini-game thanks to Monty's generosity. Afterward, they were heading to Snowflake Lake – more particularly the chair lift of Snowflake Lake – when they were arrested by a policeman, telling them that they had a flat tire. Toad stayed behind to fix the car while the two remaining contestants, Bootler and Noki, rode the chair lift to try the mini-game 'Avalanche!'. Bootler did horribly and when it looked like Noki would win, she was stopped dead in her track by a snowman. With only thirty eight minutes remaining to their timer as well as two mini-games to complete and a secret location to find, the players could not allow any more mishap. Would their endeavors be rewarded?

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

33 : The Mystery Ends

Remaining Time : Fifteen minutes

A blue car could be seen in the distance, outside of Goomba's Greedy Gala, a famous casino where you could become wealthy or simply lose everything. It was also there that Mario and his friends had one of their parties. Today, three particular players would gamble for high stakes : depending on the results of their upcoming task, fifty thousand coins would or would not be added to their team pot. Bootler, Noki and Toad were ready to tackle everything thrown in their way. The final three players were ready for anything. Or were they? One of them was not who they seemed to be and could have had another objective.

The car stopped and three figures made their way to the casino with haste. "Look at that," Noki whispered in awe. "The most famous casino of the world! Everything glitters and sparkles, it's a girl's dream coming true!"

The wealth of the establishment was ostentatious, neon lights were flashing and shining on the players as they entered the building. Inside, they were even more marveled by what they saw. Everything was in perfect condition, the tables made in wood dazzled them, the soft purple fabric on the floor was impeccable and spotless, all the mirrors were clear, they were not used to such an environment.

Shielding his eyes from the luminous spotlights, Bootler commented on the beauty of the casino. "I am impressed. I never knew of this wonderful place. I wonder how much the production spent to let us in."

"Probably more than we could ever imagine," Toad answered, still taken aback by the place. "I swear, it wasn't this beautiful last time. It's probably because there isn't anyone but us at the moment."

"You may be right," Bootler nodded fully. "I doubt I would have liked it if it was swarming with people," he justified, walking ahead of the other players. "However, we are not here to sight see, let us move onwards."

**Noki** : I was really disappointed because we couldn't stay at the casino. I knew we were timed, but we should appreciate every little moment on this show, because we won't have the same opportunity twice.

Toad took a brief look at the map he had found near the entrance and led the group toward the purple area. They came across the biggest roulette they had ever seen. "Oh, I remember this," the mushroom reminisced. "Players could bribe Goomba to reach the area with the star."

"A bribe during a party? My, this is clearly surprising," Bootler could not help but utter, a look of incredulity displayed on his face.

"It's because the goal of their parties is to earn the most stars, and the stars each cost twenty coins," Noki explained smartly.

Bootler raised an eyebrow. "You sure did your homework."

"Yes I did, I'd rather be prepared for what's coming next. Wouldn't you?" she asked, winking in the process.

"I suppose," Bootler smiled, nodding.

"Hey guys, is that the flag?" Toad questioned, pointing at a green board on which was written something he could not decipher. Taking a closer nod, he clapped his hands together. "Yup, it is!"

Toad ran toward a stack of giant cards, the others right behind him. After their sprint, they met the owner of the very own casino as well as one of his employees who was also a Goomba. Goomba was wearing his pink top hat as well as his sparkly pink vest, whereas the employee had donned a green ensemble. "Good afternoon! You are from The Mole, correct?" Goomba inquired.

"You are quite right," Bootler answered, touching the tip of his mustache. "I suppose you have a game for us?"

"Yes, it will be a game of luck. This game is called 'Deck Hands' and it requires nothing but pure luck. I will be displaying thirteen cards in front of you. One after another, you will pick one. After you've each picked three cards, we'll see who has the most points. If one of you three wins, twenty minutes will be added to your timer," Goomba explained calmly.

**Bootler** : Oh, the irony. All our hopes were resting on our lucky stars, we could do nothing but wait for the good or bad news. As you can see, I am not very fond of all those luck-based things. They do not require knowledge or strength, you cannot control your luck, which is why I hate the concept.

"Toad, you go first," instructed Goomba.

"Mmmh, okay." Toad picked a card at random and scored a thirteen, the highest card value.

"Awesome," cheered Noki excitedly. Goomba looked at her.

"Your turn."

Noki obliged and chose one card. "A twelve!" exclaimed the girl joyfully. Bootler massaged his temples.

"Well, this is not that good. This means that Toad won't be able to add twelve to his total score," Bootler told her. Noki's smile did not leave her face.

"Yes, but now this guy won't be able to add twelve to his score either. I understand what you mean but it's not like we can decide our destiny this time. You just have to make the best of what you have. Think optimistically."

"Bootler, if you will," Goomba motioned for the cards lying on the green tablecloth.

"Of course," came the immediate answer of Bootler. Studying the cards before him, he chose the one situated on his farthest right. The number four decorated the card. "Oh well."

**Noki** : Bootler didn't do much during the challenges which was quite strange. He was almost always the first one out of the games and just didn't seem to try. I didn't know what he was trying to accomplish, but come on, this is the final challenge, you want to do your best, don't you?

**Toad** : Then I noticed how our opponent was dressing. Oh boy, this guy was really superstitious. A horseshoe, a four-leaf clover, a rabbit's foot... He just had every little lucky charms I knew of and possibly more on him.

"Eh. I'm the luckiest worker in this casino, no way you'll beat me guys!" boasted the arrogant employee, choosing a card. "Take that, eleven!"

Toad and Noki rolled their eyes while Bootler coughed lightly. Goomba spoke up again. "Now, we're going to start the second turn. Bootler, since you had the least points during the first round, you choose first."

Bootler picked a seven. "I have two cards and still less points than them," he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's my turn now!" smiled the Goomba. "A nine! Awesome!"

Noki pouted slightly as she saw the card he had chosen. "Well, let's pick a card..." She cringed as soon as she saw her card. "A three, this isn't good at all..."

Toad shrugged and chose another card randomly. "Well, it's a luck based mini-game, we can't really do anything about it unfortunately. And it seems that I've earned a five... Which means that we're not in the lead anymore. Ugh," Toad complained.

Goomba gave a vigorous nod of the head. "Now, we're going into the final round of this game. So far here are everyone's standings: Luckee is first with a total of twenty points. Toad is right behind him with a total of eighteen points. Then comes Noki with fifteen points and finally Bootler has a measly eleven points. But this is a luck mini-game and everything can change. Bootler, you will now pick your final card."

Bootler acquiesced as he chose his card, which was a two. "This is all a big joke, isn't it? Toad had the same amount of points with only one card!"

Noki shook her head slightly. "Well, it's not your fault Bootler, you couldn't have guessed which cards held the most points." She leaned forward to grab yet another card. Six points were added to her total. "I have twenty-two and I'm in the lead for the moment..."

"Let's hope for a good card!" Toad crossed his fingers as he reached for one of the last three cards. "And it is...eight!"

"This is the moment of truth. You win if Luckee pick the card marked by a one, you lose if he chooses the one which has a ten on it. What will it be? Luckee, if you please," Goomba spoke up, staring intently at the remaining two cards. His employee waited for a moment before choosing one of the cards.

"This one," he muttered, pointing at the one on his left. Goomba revealed the card and soon people were cheering.

"We won!" Noki laughed as she saw a big one on the card their opponent had chosen. Bootler and Toad soon joined her in her laughter, all glad to know that they were not loosing the final challenge after all. Luckee was not as exultant as them, but still clapped for their victory.

"A promise made is a promise kept," Goomba announced, smiling to the winners of the mini-game. "You have just won another star as well as an additional thirty minutes to your timer! It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," stated the owner of the casino.

Remaining Time : Thirty Eight minutes

**Toad** : We were all psyched when we learned that the game wasn't over after all and decided to give it our all! We were only missing one star and the place Monty Mole was at, so I thought we could make it with relative ease. If the Mole didn't try to impede our progress, of course.

The players waved goodbye while rushing out of the luxurious Casino. They had added thirty minutes to their timer but that did not mean they could loiter around. Time was money, and they could not afford to waste it. Bootler opened the passenger's door on the right of the vehicle and jumped inside, his eyes already scanning the map booklet he had bought earlier that day. "Let us make this quick, we must hurry."

Meanwhile, Toad and Noki had also entered the car. While Noki fastened her seat-belt, Toad gave the final mini-star to Bootler. "You can have it."

Bootler nodded calmly, reading the inscriptions situated on the star. "So, '3 – SP – Oasis'. Well, it does not take a genius to figure out we need to head to the oasis of Spiny Desert which is behind Gate Three," Bootler enunciated clearly, showing a spot located under a white cloud on the map.

**Bootler** : The clues were not particularly hard to understand, but then again we already had our hands full with the challenge. My guess is that the producers did realize that it would probably be too much for three people alone. Winning the challenges, deciphering the clues, driving to where the clues would lead us, I assume they knew the final challenge was already difficult as it was.

"Okay Bootler, I need you to direct me to that place! The game's almost over!" Noki giggled, reversing the vehicle and driving out of Goomba's Greedy Gala parking lot.

"One more mini-game and we're done! Finally!" Toad joked. The players could not help but smile as they realized their journey was coming to an end.

…

Remaining Time : Twenty one minutes

The players all put on sunglasses to protect their eyes from the wind, which carried little grains of sand. The heat was once again too much for the three of them and they were forced to open the windows of their blue car to sense the some fresh air against their faces.

"Sooo," Toad started, "do you think we're nearly there?"

"I hope so," Noki wished in a hushed tone, "We've been driving for a while," she added, glancing at Bootler with the corner of her eyes.

Bootler gave another thorough look at his map. "Well, the bank should be visible by now and the oasis is right next to it."

"It's strange how the sand is a dark shade of blue over there," Toad pointed out awkwardly.

"I think we might have deflected from our path," Bootler realized. "Could you take a sharp left, Noki?"

"Mmmh, why not?" replied the blue-shelled inhabitant of Isle Delfino. She turned the steering wheel and started to move away from the dark area.

"I should have been more careful," Bootler shook his head in disappointment.

"Don't worry about it," reassured Toad. "I don't think we were too far from our real destination anyway, from what you had told me earlier."

Noki let out a small squeal. "I can see the bank and the oasis!"

"What if it's a mirage?" Toad wondered.

"The map does not lie," Bootler chimed in. "It indicates an oasis near the bank and the bank is quite real as you can see."

"Oh yeah, there's even a board with a black thumbprint," Toad declared.

"Well, let's check it out," Noki demanded before parking the car neatly. Bootler, Noki and Toad all went out of the car and jogged down a sand dune to reach a pink Bob-omb. He was wearing a thin white T-shirt and regular brown shoes.

"Hey everyone!" waved the Bob-omb, grinning. "You're the Mole players?"

"You're correct," Noki replied.

The small bomb nodded to himself. "Well, let's get started then! Follow me to the oasis!" The four curious characters proceeded to walk toward the oasis, where a blue Ukiki wearing purple lipstick was waiting in a wooden tub. She was also had a sailor cap on. Using a paddle, she moved the tub farther in the oasis. "May the odds be with you."

"Err... Yeah, she will be your opponent," the Bob-omb claimed, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Anyway, this game is called Bob-omb Barrage. The three of you will be throwing Bob-omb at my colleague, if you manage to sink her tub, you add twenty minutes to your timer and you obviously get a star. If you don't, you'll just get the star. You'll have one minute to sink her boat, so good luck!"

Immediately, Bootler turned to his friends. "I have a plan for this challenge."

"Really? Let's hear about it!" Toad responded eagerly.

"Well, I am not a very good shot, so I was thinking that I should act as a lure during the challenge. If I manage to get her attention, I will throw a Bob-omb next to her position. Then, she should normally react and move opposite of my shot. That is when you will throw bombs at her," Bootler explained carefully.

Noki seemed dubious. "I think we should simply throw our bombs at the same time. I doubt she can change her course easily since she is paddling."

"I should know that," Toad grumbled, recalling his experience during the Three Question Game.

Bootler rubbed his chin. "If we do what you suggest, she will have an easier time avoiding our projectiles. Unless we throw them around her," he added in an afterthought.

"Whatever you say, Bootler," Toad shrugged. "A nice strategy would be to throw bombs real fast kind of randomly. She will probably tire after a while and that's when we'll strike!"

**Toad** : We all had an idea as to what to do to win this challenge, and to be honest, we all had good strategies. I wasn't sure we'd need a strategy, though, since the game seemed pretty easy. Three against one? Our opponent didn't stand a chance.

The small group chose its position at the edge of the oasis and was careful to keep the bombs near. A disembodied voice yelled the word 'Start' which encouraged the players to begin the game. Noki was the first to make a move, but she did not put enough strength in her throw and the bomb exploded once it reached the surface of the water.

"The bombs aren't light!" she exclaimed, surprised. She then looked up and saw a bomb flying high in the sky.

"Whoops! I guess I threw it a little too hard," Toad commented as he watched the projectile fly away.

"Take this!" Bootler yelled as he also threw his bomb. It landed near the female Ukiki who suddenly paddled as if her life depended on it. Bootler had scared her and she was not feeling as secure as before.

"Wow, that was nice!" Toad laughed as he prepared his second bomb. The mushroom boy threw it and barely missed the tub. He did a small victory dance and picked yet another Bob-Omb.

Meanwhile, Noki was focusing on the task at hand and she was trying to find a good angle before throwing her weapon. As she finally made her choice, a loud explosion rang out and she was left in a daze. "Ow!"

Bootler and Toad both looked at Noki and at their bomb in quick succession before gulping. They certainly did not want that to happen to them. The two previous coalition partners hurled their bombs toward the Ukiki but missed completely.

"She's way too good," Toad complained. "Let's try Bootler's strategy!"

Noki nodded and as soon as she regained her senses, she flung her Bob-omb at her opponent. The Ukiki began to paddle with all her might and successfully avoided the bomb, however she was trapped by her momentum and could not change her course. Bootler's and Toad's bombs grazed her boat. "Oh no, you won't beat me!" The Ukiki smirked.

However, she was wrong, as the three players fired a salvo of Bob-omb which managed to reach her boat. She dived in the water to escape the bombs and resurfaced a few seconds later, looking angry. She refused to say goodbye to the players as an embarrassed Bob-omb rewarded the players with their final star. "What a sore loser," Noki could not help but say, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, she can get very competitive," the pink Bob-omb admitted. "In any case, I am very happy to give you this star! Since you won this challenge, you also added twenty minutes to your timer, so congratulations! Good luck, I hope you'll manage to win the challenge!"

Remaining Time : Thirty eight minutes

"Thank you very much!" Bootler bowed politely.

Toad absorbed the star in his hands and gave the Bob-omb one of his best smile. "Yeah, thanks! Now we have a complete set of six stars!" he shouted, overjoyed.

"But still no idea as to where Monty Mole should be," Noki noted as they returned to their car.

"Oh shoot, you're right!" Toad realized, putting his hand over his mouth. "I had completely forgotten about him..."

"I suggest we return to Pipetown for the time being," Bootler directed, acting like the leader of their group. The other two agreed to follow his lead and the three of them entered their car, a little worried about what was to come.

**Noki** : We were so busy trying to find the locations where the stars were waiting for us, elaborating strategies to win the mini-games and navigating to one place to another that we simply forgot the most important point of the challenge. We had all the stars in our possession but we still didn't know where Monty Mole was located. So we basically had only completed one half of the challenge and with less than an hour to go, we were very agitated.

…

Remaining Time : Thirty three minutes

Noki was driving the car back to Pipetown while Bootler and Toad were trying to figure out where their last destination was, directing Noki at the same time. The Boo and the Toad were clueless and had no idea, the group had reached a dead-end.

"C'mon, we can't be failing now," the mushroom sighed. "Not when we're just missing one little thing..."

"I am afraid I do not know what to do," Bootler panicked, skimming through the map booklet.

**Bootler** : That was definitely one of the worst moments of the game. To know that we were so close yet so far at the same time... The feeling is quite frustrating and there is nothing you can do about it.

Noki gasped suddenly. "Toad! Bootler! Do you remember the letter Monty gave us?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Toad inquired, interested in Noki's reaction.

"Well, I was thinking... In it, I recall that Monty mentioned that he gave us three clues."

"Please continue," Bootler requested, intrigued by Noki's reflection.

"Clue number one, Monty led us to the car which meant that we had something to do with it. We found out that we needed the car in order to navigate in the Party World with relative ease. Well, we didn't need to be genii to know that, but that was definitely the first clue," Noki took a deep breath and pursued. "Then, the second clue was about certain items we needed to collect and bring back to Monty Mole at an unknown location. Obviously, these items are stars since that's what people gave us. However, we never found the third clue and I'm almost one hundred percent sure that it's somewhere in the letter," she concluded.

Bootler pondered on her statement. "That is very true. As far as I recall, Toad searched the entire car but did not find anything related to our final destination, and he would have told us if he had found something."

"And, nobody ever gave us clues concerning the place Monty's waiting at," Toad finished. "So the final answer must be in the letter! You're a genius, Noki!"

Bootler reached for the compartment where he had put away the letter and read it aloud. "Let us find the passage we need... 'My location will remain a mystery, an enigma, just like the game you have been playing this whole time'."

"So much for that," Noki sighed to herself. "And here I thought I was onto something... Even though the way Monty insisted on the words 'mystery' and 'enigma' was strange."

Toad was thinking furiously. "'My location will remain a mystery'? Wait, enigma, mystery... An enigma in a mystery? No, that's not it..."

"What's happening, Toad?"

"Do you know where we should be headed to?" Bootler wondered.

"I have an idea... Bootler, look at your maps... One of them should be called 'Mystery Land'! If I recall correctly, there was something about an enigma there!" Toad exclaimed excitedly. "What if the answer had been given to us this entire time?"

Bootler's eyes grew wide. "Why, it seems that you are correct!" the old butler responded in surprise. "There seems to be a gray cross which looks like a junction, and above it there is something called the 'Enigma Square'. This tourist guide says that legends have it that it was the abode of a powerful monster in the past. This monster would ask you a single riddle. Should you fail to answer it, he would gobble you down. It is also said that no one found the answer to the enigma for two thousand years," Bootler described in detail.

Noki smiled. "I guess we're going there. Do you agree?"

"Well, it's our last and only chance," Toad grinned. "So I'd say yes."

"I am usually against gambling, yet I do not see any other possibility, which is why I am going to say that yes, we should go there," Bootler gave them his opinion, a confident smile on his face. "I will give you directions, Noki. Toad, keep your eyes peeled."

**Toad** : I was glad we were able to communicate together efficiently in the end even if there's a Mole in our group. Everyone screwed up during the challenge, but everyone helped too. I'm happy we were able to put the competition aside for a moment and enjoy our final challenge together.

…

Remaining Time : Nine minutes

The players were tense as their car bolted toward their final destination : Mystery Land. They knew they did not have much time left, so it would be a race against time. Nobody could think of a better name for this Party Land, everything about it being mysterious. Ancient dolmens were protruding from the ground, mist was ubiquitous, rumors said that a mysterious monster was living in a nearby lake – even though people had claimed that the 'mysterious monster' was none other than Dorrie – and it was also said that there was a hidden castle in the forest which only appeared at midnight every Sunday. Mystery Land contained every oddities one could think of, from crashed planes to pyramids without forgetting steles which bore a testament to other civilizations.

"I don't think we're going to go far with a car in these conditions," Toad realized. "We should just go there by our own means, I think we'd be faster..."

"Yes, however, we need to hurry," Bootler agreed wholeheartedly. Noki hesitated for a second but she eventually pulled out the key from the car and exited the vehicle.

"Let's follow this path!" Noki suggested, running as fast as she could toward her objective. Toad and Bootler followed suit although the latter was lagging behind. The group passed a strange house decorated with the mask of a Shy Guy and were also cautious not to fall in a ravine as they passed by a strange pillar.

"I hope we'll arrive in time!" Toad wished as he rushed forward and jumped to a higher place. He helped Noki and Bootler up and together, the three players ran at full speed toward the enigmatic square.

"Is this really the place?" Noki asked, uncertainty displayed on her face.

"I would assume so," Bootler confirmed, walking forward. "Yes! I see Monty Mole!" he pointed out in the distance where a very short recognizable mole stood.

"Hurry guys!" Toad yelled, already sprinting toward victory.

"Yes! It's really him!" Noki jumped with joy as the three players halted in front of Monty Mole and another guest. Bootler collapsed to the ground, regaining his breath.

"Finally!"

Monty Mole grinned ever so slightly. "Well guys, congratulations, you found me! Before announcing the results of this challenge, I would like you to meet Lays Terryns, the saboteur of the previous season!"

The blue Yoshi wearing trendy clothes shook the players' hands and introduced himself. "Hello everyone, it's me, Lays! I'm glad to see you've completed your final challenge despite the fact that you had a Mole in your ranks. Now, let's see your results, shall we?"

Monty Mole put on his poker face and nodded. "Well, as you may have realized during the challenge, you were to find me at Enigma Square with six stars in your possession under a time limit of two hours. May I see the stars?" the host questioned.

Toad let out the stars from his body and gave them to the host, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, it seems that you found me and were able to bring back six stars with you, which means that the only thing which would prevent you from adding fifty thousand coins to your pot is your remaining time."

The players suddenly grew tense, looking at each other in fright. They had no indication of time during the challenge, so they did not know whether they had arrived in time or not. "Please tell us, Monty!" Noki besought.

Monty Mole crossed his arms. "You started with two hours and were able to add two more hours thanks to the mini-games you won, so you basically had four hours to reach me..." Monty marked a pause, raising the suspense.

"With three minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining, you won the final challenge! Congratulations, guys!"

The three players jumped up and down in joy at the announcement. "We did it!" they cheered loudly.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we were so close!" Noki exclaimed, falling to the ground in a sitting position.

"I daresay that was a close call," Bootler chuckled lightly, still tired after the challenge.

"This was the hardest challenge thus far and we won it! I'm impressed in ourselves," Toad laughed, he was in awe.

Lays was also clapping for the victorious players. "Ah, it reminds me of my own adventure... It was also a close call but we eventually won it! It feels really great to win the hardest challenge! That's what Kylie told me too!"

Monty Mole was also grinning from ear to ear. "Well, with that said, you added a grand fifty thousand coins to your team pot, bringing it to two hundred fifty eight thousand coins! Once again, congratulations! This pot will go the the winner of this game! Quite a big sum of money, wouldn't you say?"

Challenge's Results :

_Money Won : 50 000_

_Team Pot : 258 000 coins_

"The pot is so huge!" Toad could not help but say.

"It would be a dream to win it all," Noki smiled cutely.

"Ah, but for one of us, this dream will become reality," Bootler told them.

"Yeah, except the Mole who can't win the money," Lays reminded them. "Anyway, you don't have much time before the quiz, I suggest you read over your notes carefully 'cause now, the quiz isn't about finding who the Mole is but knowing as much information as you can about them. Knowledge is the key to success!" the blue dinosaur exclaimed, a huge smile plastered on his face. "I'll see you later!"

"Players," Monty Mole's voice resounded, "you will take your final quiz in two hours, which should give you ample time to prepare yourself. I want you all before Gate Six at eight PM sharp. You are free to return to the hotel to eat and do what you must. Well, this is it! Later!" Monty waved as he and Lays returned to Pipetown.

"You guys don't mind if we eat together one last time?" Toad asked after a moment of silence. "It wouldn't be fun to sit at a table alone at this stage of the game."

Bootler chuckled heartily. "Do not worry, I did not intend to eat alone either. Noki, would you mind joining us?"

"Of course not," she responded politely, smiling at her two friends. "But I want to eat as soon as possible, four hours of challenge really made me hungry."

"Yeah, you're right, let's grab something to eat somewhere nice."

"Well then, let us go back to our car!" Bootler exclaimed joyfully.

…

The players had eaten together, but then, each of them had decided to focus for the upcoming quiz. In order to do that, they had to isolate themselves from any source of disruption.

Bootler, the old butler, had decided to study his notes near the fountain he and Lady Bow, the princess he vowed to protect, had enjoyed when she came to visit him. Bootler, the eldest player of the game, showed us that he was not as weak as he looked during the game. At first looking a bit out of his element with his loved ones missing, Bootler managed to get his act together and stay in the game for several episodes, succeeding beyond his wildest expectations. Showing smartness, calmness and levelheadedness, the Boo drew strength from his inner self which propelled him toward the latest stages of the game. Although he came a bit short in the physical prowess department, his willpower allowed him to reach the final.

**Bootler** : I will do what I must do to win this game. I think winning the game would be extraordinary, it would definitely make the experience complete. It is not so much about winning the money, but rather achieving something on my own.

Noki, the young air hostess, returned to the library to study her notes. She needed to concentrate and knew the place would be perfect for her. In a way, the place was exactly like her. Calm, smart, knowledgeable, weak and emotive, those were the traits Noki showed throughout the game. At the beginning, the frail Noki was withdrawn into herself, feeling she was never meant to be part of the group. However, episodes after episodes, she became closer to Birdo, an ally of choice who would later become one of her best friend, resulting in her breaking out of her shell. Trying her best to fit in, Noki amazed everyone with her incredible intelligence, and even though she would always struggle when the game threw anything physical at her, the inhabitant of Isle Delfino knew that she had found her place. And what place, a spot in the final episode of the game, no less!

**Noki** : This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Winning this game would mean so much for me, to say that I was the winner of such an amazing game show would make me feel so proud, not to mention that winning the money could possibly change my life forever.

Toad, the young gardener working at Princess Peach's Castle, decided that he would be better in his natural habitat, around vegetation. Taking his journal in his hands, he started studying hard to possibly win the game. Outgoing, friendly, honest, those three words clearly defined Toad's personality. While some people took the game seriously, Toad never once forgot that it was just a game. Trying to have as much fun as he could, he tried his best to help his team, even when he was feeling down. Experiencing the game for what it was, Toad was one of the most dependable people in the show, trying his best to cheer everyone up when they needed it the most and doing his best at the challenges, even when he was clearly overwhelmed by its mental aspects. Showing enthusiasm and spreading joy around throughout the whole game, Toad earned a spot in the final three.

**Toad** : I'm really really really happy to have made it thus far, it was an incredible experience and I'll be missing it once everything is over. I just wished we could play indefinitely, alas, all great things have an end. Life seems dull when you compare it with this game. I want to win and amaze everyone!

The three players showed up at eight o' clock in front of Gate Six, like they were instructed to by Monty Mole. Their host had donned a tuxedo and the players saw that Lays, who accompanied him, was also dressed for the occasion. The players themselves had put their best clothes and jewels on.

Monty Mole beckoned to them without a word and walked toward a Warp Pipe the players had not noticed before. He jumped inside and Lays followed suit. The players could not help but smile to each other as they hopped inside.

They landed on a strange car which had enough place for a conductor and passengers as there was a couch serving as seats. Monty Mole took his place behind the steering wheel while Lays and the players sat behind.

"Are we even in the Party World?" Bootler inquired. "I do not remember if this place figured on my map booklet or not..."

"We're in a Party Land to be," Monty Mole declared mysteriously, grinning as he did so. "However, I don't want to spoil you so don't expect precisions. Princess Peach and your friend Mario told us that we could use this place which is somehow significant to you guys. You've been playing this game for a while, and your quiz awaits you at the end of the road. But no one knows what is beyond that road, it will be your job to write the end of this history, and for one of you, it will change your life forever," Monty exclaimed, using some of his witty sentences to add more mystery to the atmosphere.

Lays decided to speak up since Monty Mole was finished. "As he said, you'll be taking your final quiz at the end of the road, but for now please look around and comment on what you see," he told them, as if he was acting as the replacement of Kooper.

"Well, so far I see a blue warp pipe, two tree stumps and a windmill in the distance," Toad commented.

Lays laughed. "No silly! I wasn't talking about the scenery but-"

Noki cut him off. "Look at the picture stitched to the tree! It's Kooper in his pirate outfit!"

"Oh yeah! It was during the second challenge, when we had to find something in a pirate ship," Toad recalled. "Man, it was so long ago..."

"Aww, true... I miss Kooper. To be honest, I kind of think his elimination was rigged, it was so unfair to give him a minus one," Noki lamented.

"Well, I would not go as far as to say that his elimination was rigged. He took his chance when he opened the envelope containing a minus one and he had to pay the price, unfortunately. Who knows, if he had not taken it, he would probably be here instead of one of us," Bootler pointed out smartly.

The car drove silently for another moment, with the players trying to see other pictures in the distance. Toad found the next one, which was located behind fences made of wood. It was a picture of Donkey Kong wearing clogs and farmer clothes, looking repulsed as he read a slip of paper. A white sheep was taunting him from behind.

"I didn't really like Donkey," Noki spoke up. "He was nothing but mean toward Flurrie, she didn't do anything to be treated like he did. Besides, he always accused her of sabotaging the games but he didn't do any better himself." Noki still resented the fact that Donkey had been so rude with her friend.

"Ah, come on, Donkey isn't that bad actually. He can get pretty competitive, though, and I'd be willing to bet that he was actually kind of manipulated by Jojora. Well, maybe not manipulated but influenced. He reacts strongly but he's a good guy, you should give him a chance," Toad admonished.

"Well, I agree with the both of you. On the one hand, he was unnecessarily rude and obnoxious, but on the other hand, he did not have time to show us his other side. He was not so bad when he was calm. I suppose he let the game go to his head, which is truly unfortunate," summed up Bootler.

Next, the players went along a small pond and glanced at their reflection for a moment. They kept on driving until they reached a small mushroom house and a red windmill. Bootler realized that there was a picture on the windmill. The picture represented Flurrie in a car, slaloming expertly between cars to avoid tomatoes.

Toad immediately laughed as he saw the picture. "Oh I remember that game, she drove like a mad woman! Flurrie was really fun to have around, she was a great girl and I missed her character when she decided to take that bribe."

"I admit that she was quite the character, however, I am glad to know that she did not leave the game empty-handed. She played the game as a greedy person, but I cannot blame her for she might have needed the money," Bootler stated.

"Flurrie was one of the best players on this show. She protected me from a possible red screen that fateful night and Birdo later told me that she needed to money to fix the Great Boggley Tree, home of hundred of Punies," Noki recalled. "Maybe you thought she was selfish, but in my opinion she was just trying her best to win the money."

Monty drove the car up a natural winding stairway and Toad localized the next picture which was Pauline's, attached to a vine. The lady in red was seen looking utterly scared as she pointed to a falling spotlight, she was situated above the floor.

"Pauline was an awesome player, I thought she would be going real far into the game because she was kind of mole-ish," Toad smiled. "She seemed to have an okay strategy too, so she would have been a great ally I think."

"I also suspected her to an extent, to be honest," Noki admitted. "It's a shame she scored the lowest because I also think she could have potentially won the game. We never realized it, but she was actually a big threat."

"Well, not to toot my own horn, but I was wary around her, I knew there was something fishy about her. That did not prevent me from liking her, of course. Like most of you, I also selected her during some quizzes. She would have been a great Mole," Bootler noted, nodding to himself.

The players ascended more and more until they reached a castle looking slightly dilapidated and decrepit. There, Noki took notice of Mario's picture. The Mushroom Kingdom's hero was seen looking pensive, as he was probably pondering on the theft of the Perplex Express. He was in the train near Holly Koopa's seat, head tilted and arms crossed.

"I felt horrible after his execution," Noki sniffled a bit. "Mario was the best player of this show, he was always playing for the team, showing concern for his teammates and, well, being himself, Super Mario," she grinned. "I can't apologize enough for what I've done. He could have won two exemptions but he wouldn't sacrifice the money we earned as a team and... I executed him... It's my fault he was executed, I took away his exemption!"

"Wow, chill Noki! You did what you thought was best as the time, it wasn't your fault he didn't know who the Mole was at the time!" Toad comforted her. "Mario played an awesome game as a leader, but a very poor one as a player. He should have been a little more egoistical."

"I agree," Bootler confirmed, thinking along the same lines as Toad. "Mario was always putting the team before him, he was trying to make us stay as a group. However, he completely forgot about himself and was executed because he was a team player. It is a shame, but it cannot be helped."

As the vehicle was going to cross a bridge, Lays decided to ask the players something. "So, what's your strategy for this final quiz?"

Noki put on a sly smile on her face. "I'm going to take it as fast as I can. In case of a tie, I should win that way. I've been studying my journal like crazy and I think I know almost everything about the Mole, so I shouldn't worry."

"As for me, I believe that slow and steady wins the race, and I do intend to prove it once again. I have never rushed while taking questionnaires and I believe it is what allowed me to stay in the game," Bootler announced.

"Well, I don't know. I guess I'm voting for the Mole but I don't have a strategy," Toad answered. "To me, if you're going too fast you have more risks to make mistakes, but if you're going too slow you can lose in case of a tie with the other finalist. And it would suck to lose by a few seconds."

"Funny how each of you has a different strategy, I think you complete each other well!" Lays complimented.

The small car became silent again. It descended a small mountain and landed on the ground where it continued to advance. Bootler located the next picture on an island shaped like a nine. On it, Birdo was seen kicking a football with great strength as the ball soared toward the goal in a blur.

"Ah, Birdo," Bootler smiled, remembering the pink dinosaur. "She was not the smartest tool in the shed, however she had a big heart and would always make us laugh. I wish I had interacted more with her because she was a surprising individual with many tricks up her sleeve."

Noki clasped her hands together, smiling broadly. "Birdo was my best friend on the show, I was utterly devastated when it came down to the both of us... It's too bad she didn't get to experience the final episode, I'm sure she would have loved it!"

"Birdo was suspicious, but she was a great player. I mean, sometimes it looked like she wasn't giving everything she had, but that wasn't true. From what I've heard after the 'Floral Composition' challenge, she was the one who saved the day by running for a long time on a gigantic wheel," Toad reminisced.

Going further down the path, Monty Mole turned right, passing next to a mushroom house. Right after the house was a cannon on which was a picture of Jojora. The ice fairy was seen making her masterpiece, a frown on her face. Many materials were scattered on the floor by her feet. Toad caught sight of her picture.

"Well, Jojora was a weird one. I don't think she's actually bad but I don't know why she was acting like an ass around us," Toad stated. "I mean, she was smart and quite athletic, if she had been likeable she would have been an awesome player."

"I think we're all thinking the same thing here. When Chucklissa came, she told Pianta how gentle, kind and good-hearted Jojora was and I was kind of wondering whether Chucklissa was blind or deceived by her friend. But you know, she wasn't so bad at the end of the game," Noki realized.

"In my opinion, she was acting like that so that we would not like her. It could have been her strategy. Oh well, we will probably have some answers when we meet again at the reunion show," Bootler shrugged.

Finally, the team arrived before a small isle on which was a bigger picture, taken right after their success during the challenge they had completed a few hours ago. Bootler, Noki and Toad smiled as soon as they saw the picture, but did not comment on it as they were approaching a clearing where three computers were waiting for them. Monty Mole jumped off the vehicle and faced the players.

"Players, you will now take your final quiz which will be longer than usual," Monty Mole's voice boomed, the host looked more serious than usual. "Twenty questions about the Mole, the one who obtains the best score will become the sole winner of two hundred fifty eight thousand coins. Whatever happens here, in this clearing, the game will be over as soon as you complete your quiz. This questionnaire will test your intelligence, your memory and your knowledge about the Mole. Players, I wish you good luck."

All of a sudden it felt colder. Monty's speech had sent a chill down the players' spine, they were looking as anxious as ever. Febrile and impatient, they could not do much but wait for Monty to finish. The wait was unbearable.

"Noki, you will take the desk on your left. Do not do anything else until I say so," Monty told her, showing her to her seat. The small Noki was terrified and she gulped as she took her seat, trembling in anticipation.

"Toad, the middle desk, if you please," Monty ordered as the mushroom hurried over to his seat, fidgeting with his cravat. Much like Noki, Toad was very anxious.

"Bootler, take the final desk, please," the host demanded, showing the remaining seat. Bootler nodded and calmly walked to his seat, keeping a cool head as he stared into Monty's eyes.

"Noki, are you ready?"

"Y-yes, I am!" she declared with defiance in her eyes.

"Toad, are you ready?"

"Yeah... I hope so!" the mushroom hesitated slightly.

"Bootler, are you ready?"

"When am I not?" the Boo retorted, a smile on his lips.

"Very well then, you can begin your quiz!" Monty Mole allowed them, turning back and leaving them behind.

…

_ 1. At the beginning of the show, the Mole arrived in..._

_-The Red Helicopter_

_-The Yellow Helicopter _

_-The Blue Helicopter _

_-The Pink Helicopter _

_-The Green Helicopter _

**Toad** : When we took our first steps in the show, I was thinking that there was absolutely no way that Noki or Bootler could be the Mole, because they didn't have as much presence as, say, Jojora or Mario. I would have never guessed at that point that it would all came to this... Noki or Bootler is the Mole, and that's what it is.

**Noki** : Who would have thought we'd be the final three? I bet everyone expected Mario, Jojora and Pauline to reach this ultimate episode, but the truth is that first impressions are always wrong. Toad and Bootler didn't look suspicious at all at the beginning of the game, and the Mole wouldn't want to be suspected as soon as the game starts, would they?

**Bootler** : I admit that Noki and Toad were not at the top of my Mole list when we first began to play the game. However, as my suspects suddenly disappeared from the game and the number of players began to dwindle, I was forced to reconsider my choices. My two friends were messing up more openly than I did but they still managed to weave toward the second half of the game rather unsuspected, a very good attribute for a Mole.

_ 2. During the 'Mixed-Up Luggage' Challenge, how many items did the Mole label correctly?_

_-2_

_-4_

_-5_

_-8_

_-9_

**Noki** : I remember that Bootler had done a very poor job during this challenge, something that would definitely look out of character if we were to look at his progress throughout the game. Bootler always seems to stay in the background, he failed during many challenges or did not help us at all, but we didn't notice him since he wasn't in the spotlight as opposed to Flurrie, Jojora or Donkey, for example.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Bootler found four items out of ten, so he will add one thousand coins to the pot. (Bootler shakes his head, disappointed in his performance)_

_Flashback** Birdo** : Needless to say, Bootler's performance was a let down for all of us._

**Toad** : Bootler could definitely be the Mole. He has never been overly suspected by anyone, and his discretion and fatherly figure could be the perfect disguise for the Mole. There are tons of challenges he sabotaged and managed to get away with it rather unsuspected.

_ 3. During the 'Treasure Hunters' Mission, where did the Mole have to retrieve their clue?_

_-Shy Guy Pirate Boat_

_-Chomp Jail_

_-Pirate Town_

_-Skull Cavern_

_-Pirate Land's Jungle_

**Bootler** : Noki could very well be the saboteur we have been looking for since the beginning of the game. Her shy demeanor and fragile stature are two weapons the Mole could have used to her own advantage. She is not as physically fit as the others, which is a great advantage when it comes to sabotaging physical challenges, and her smartness helped her sabotage mental challenges, using her friends as scapegoats.

_Flashback **Mario** : Wait a second. If Birdo did it, then... That means that Noki also lied...? (Mario looks confused after the thief of Holly Koopa's emerald his revealed)_

_Flashback **Jojora** : (tapping her feet on the floor) Isn't that obvious? Birdo doesn't need an exemption, but who else needs it? (catching a glimpse of Noki's smile) It was your plan, wasn't it?_

**Toad** : Noki did weird things throughout the adventure, from abandoning Birdo in the windmill to pleading me not to choose her when the Three Question Game became too personal, but all those things had something in common : they were intended to make us lose money.

_ 4. During the first mission of Episode two, which group was the Mole's?_

_-The Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep group_

_-The Floral Composition Group_

**Noki** : Toad might seem like an innocent player, but if I recall correctly, he made us lose twenty thousand coins in the second mission of Episode three thanks to an underhanded trick. I think that was a deliberate sabotage on his part.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : (pointing at a spot on the car Flurrie was driving) May I direct your attention to this spot, over here? Do you see it now? This is a scratch. Thus, you lost the challenge._

_Flashback **Flurrie** : But I never- Oh wait, was it you Toad? (she realizes as Toad grins)_

**Bootler** : Toad did mess up many challenges as far as I can recall. During Episode two, he did not find every letters he needed to give Mario to win five thousand coins and we obviously lost this sum of money because of his mistake. And what is even funnier is that nobody reproached him anything because we were all focused on Pauline's and Jojora's fraud.

_ 5. During the 'Split Homework' Challenge, what was the role of the Mole?_

_-Person who likes to be the center of attention_

_-Person who has keen eyes_

_-Person for whom school brings back memories_

**Toad** : Noki is unnaturally smart, or is she? Being the Mole, she would know every answers to every challenge and could play accordingly. It has always flabbergasted me to see she knew all the answers to all the riddles the game was throwing at her. No one, as smart as they are, should know that much about the game. Maybe she was the Mole trying to redeem herself?

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : That is correct. Three is indeed the right answer. Assuming three of the candles are blown out, only seven of them remain lit and as such, they will continue to melt until they are no more. (Flurrie, Birdo, Bootler and Donkey look at Noki, a dumbfounded expression on their faces)_

**Toad** : I don't know, everything about her sounds supernatural.

_ 6. During the 'Feet Versus Wheels' Challenge, what was the Mole's group?_

_-Teamwork group_

_-Driver group_

_-Havoc group_

**Noki** : I remember how hard Toad and Bootler were making this mission for us. I would bet that Toad was in charge of the physical obstacles while Bootler was creating the enigmas. They were both to blame in the end. Toad might have vandalized the car as a last minute idea, but Bootler was the most suspicious. How did he create those hard riddles in such a ridiculous amount of time? Unless he was prepared beforehand, there was no way he could have done it.

_(flashback of Noki, Mario, Jojora struggling to resolve the first enigma Bootler had left them, with Pauline, Birdo and Flurrie equally wondering what the answer was.)_

_ 7. During the third execution, when did the Mole had to face their screen?_

_-First_

_-Second_

_-Third_

_-The Mole never faced a screen that night_

**Bootler** : As much as I like him, I must admit that Toad was the reason why we won the exemptions and thus lost the challenge. Throwing a rock at Flurrie's car insured that we would win the exemptions, and that is of course extremely suspicious. But there was another way to sabotage the challenge without raising suspicions and it would not make sense for him not to take this opportunity if he were truly the Mole.

_Flashback **Toad** : DUCK EVERYONE! (Toad tosses the projectiles at Flurrie's car while the inhabitants throw themselves on the pavement)_

_ 8. During the 'Family Problems' Mission, who was the Mole up against?_

_-Luigi_

_-Lady Bow_

_-Grace_

_-Toadette_

_-Pianta_

_-Chucklissa_

_-The Mole didn't play in that game_

**Toad** : While Noki appears suspicious, Bootler isn't to forget. I remember his blatant sabotages, and the Family Problems one was definitely fishy. Bootler decided that he would face Lady Bow in a persuasion challenge only to stay mute afterward? I don't know, that just screams suspicious. It wasn't the only time he screwed up big time, I still remember the one thousand coins penalty which could have been avoided with ease...

_Flashback **Bootler** : You never told me that I would be able to speak with the loved one situated behind Gate Eight. (Jojora and Mario are startled by his claim)_

_Flashback **Jojora** : Wait, don't tell me you said nothing? _

_Flashback **Mario** : What? Bootler, you must be joking. What kind of negotiator negotiates without saying a thing? That's utterly stupid!_

**Toad** : Everyone thought it was dumb and very out of character.

_ 9. During the challenge 'Under the Spotlight', what was the task the Mole was originally assigned to?_

_-Singing_

_-Creating a videotape_

_-Creating decors_

_-Creating a musical arrangement_

_-Directing everyone_

_-Taking care of the lights_

_-Sewing a costume_

**Noki** : The biggest mystery of this challenge is still left unanswered. Who did erase Toad's remix? Everyone could have done it, and while I believe the Mole is most likely the culprit, I can't help but think that there's the distinct possibility that a player decided to tamper with it. Anyway, Bootler had a position of choice during the challenge, since he was located right next to Toad's computer. This could mean that he erased it, but there was another person who had the perfect opportunity to do so, because we gave them too much leeway. That person was Toad. It was his computer, it was his remix. Could it have also been his sabotage?

_(flashback of Toad yelling as he discovers that his remix vanished from the computer)_

**Toad** : I hated this challenge. We were doing so good when the Mole sabotaged my work... Now, Noki fell 'accidentally' on my computer just before I came back from the restroom, and I told everyone that it couldn't be her fault if the remix had disappeared since the computer had suffered no damage. But what if she fell on purpose to make everyone think that the Mole wouldn't draw unwanted attention to themselves when they had sabotaged subtly, thus dismissing her as a suspect? I also have my obvious suspicions on Bootler as he was the one who could have had an easier time erasing my remix.

_(flashback of Bootler moving to where Toad is sitting and asking the mushroom if he can stay with him)_

**Bootler** : There is one thing that I absolutely want to be cleared once the game is over, and it is the mystery pertaining to the missing remix. Now, I know that both Noki and Toad could have erased it with ease but if memory serves me right, Pauline was also lurking and asking different questions... She could have erased it... Although it makes much more sense if the Mole is the one who sabotaged this challenge, which would point to Toad, the creator of the music, and Noki, the one who made herself extremely suspicious by falling on the computer. I do not know who did it at that point, however, I have my doubts.

_(flashback of Noki tripping on the table on which Toad's computer is sitting, making the both of them tumble on the floor)_

_ 10. During the mission 'Mansion Nightmare', when was the Mole eliminated?_

_-The Mole never got eliminated_

_-First_

_-Second_

_-Third_

**Noki** : Toad's actions during the challenge made me doubt him. Birdo told me that, at the end of this game when she, Mario and Toad were alive, Toad suggested avoiding the tranquilizers' darts and to run up the stairs as fast as they could. Thankfully, Mario disagreed with his proposition as he saw that there was a strange mechanism on the wall linked to the ultimate door.

_Flashback **Toad** : Maybe we should avoid the darts. (Birdo and Mario are dubious as they look at the wall in front of them)_

_Flashback **Mario** : Toad could have made us lose. During the ultimate part of the challenge, when we had to face the tranquilizers, he suggested that we should avoid them. Yet, we later found out that if one dart connected with the wall it was game over for us, so that kind of makes me have doubts about Toad... _

**Noki** : One little sentence could have made us lose fifteen thousand coins.

_ 11. During the mission 'Instrumental Search', which instrument did the Mole need to bring back?_

_-Guitar_

_-Saxophone_

_-Trumpet_

_-Violin_

_-Flute_

**Bootler** : In that mission, Noki brought back a musical instrument to the room which looked like a violin. However, it only looked like a violin, because it was a viola. She made us lose money that day...

_Flashback **Carne** (Noki's Musician) : She did bring me here, with what looks like a violin! Too bad it only looks like a violin, because that thing is a viola. _

_Flashback **Noki** : What? But it looked like a violin! (putting her hand on her mouth)_

_Flashback **Carne** : They look similar, but a violin is lighter and smaller. _

**Bootler** : Noki would be a great actress for she knows what to say, when to say it, and where to say it. Everything she does seems calculated and programmed in advance.

_ 12. Who was the Mole paired up with in the 'Arts Versus Craps' challenge?_

_-Jojora_

_-Toad_

_-Noki_

_-Bootler_

**Toad** : Noki and Bootler saw each other during that challenge, but they never told me or Jojora, which was very weird. Also, Noki had the perfect opportunity to warn the other team that they were going to make us fail... She later said that she did, but... In my opinion, she didn't try hard enough because Bootler explained to me that she wasn't convincing.

_Flashback **Noki** : (staring at Bootler) Bootler, you need to stop working on your project. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : Well, I would be prone to trust you, however, since you already tricked someone before on this show, I am afraid that I must refuse your offer. I strongly believe that you and Toad might have been offered something which could put myself and Jojora at a disadvantage. _

**Toad** : On the other hand, Bootler's claim didn't make sense. Two players earning an advantage right before the final? This is simply impossible.

_ 13. What was the Mole's role in the 'Antic Relics' challenge?_

_-They were looking for clues in the Mansion_

_-They were looking for items in Horror Land_

**Bootler** : When Toad refused the exemption, I was both happy and confused. Happy because that meant that our team pot would grow, but surprised because he could have been the one eliminated that night.

**Noki** : Toad was alone during the challenge, he could have sabotaged and no one would be the wiser. The only way to communicate with him was to use a walkie-talkie.

**Toad** : Bootler and Noki were both in the haunted mansion looking for clues and I didn't know what they were doing until they contacted me via the walkie-talkie. They were making me run from one place to another without giving much indications. Sometimes, I had the feeling they were wasting time.

_ 14. When Kylie Koopa offered the players to bid for the Mole's dossier, how much did the Mole bid?_

_-25 000 coins_

_-25 001 coins_

_-30 000 coins_

**Noki** : Bootler's bid was really odd. I mean, why would you put an additional coin to your bid like that? Usually, people don't bother with units and like round sums so I thought it was a little fishy, especially since he beat my bet with only one coin.

_Flashback **Bootler** : I will say that I would pay twenty five thousand and one coins for this book. (Bootler nods to himself, pleased with his choice)_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : With a bid of twenty five thousand and one coins, Bootler, you won this prize. (Monty Mole shows the Mole's dossier to Bootler)_

_ 15. How many bonuses did the Mole win throughout the game? Bonuses being exemptions or plus ones._

_-0_

_-1_

_-2_

_-3_

**Noki** : I think we all got the same number of bonuses. We each won one exemption, but that's about it. Thinking about it, Flurrie and Birdo were the luckiest ones, even if most exemptions and plus ones were accessible to everyone.

**Toad** : I can't really say that someone used the exemptions and plus ones as excuses to sabotage the challenges, since we all received one. Coincidentally enough, all our exemptions cost twenty thousand coins to the team.

**Bootler** : Well, if you talk about the bonuses we all received, then I must admit that it is a tie. However, if you look at the things the players could have won, you will come to realize that Toad and Noki were more advantaged than me. They were both eligible for the exemption roulette and Toad also had the possibility to exchange an exemption against fifteen thousand coins during the penultimate stage of the game.

_ 16. During the mini-game 'Deck Hands', how many points did the Mole score after three cards?_

_-Thirteen_

_-Twenty-One_

_-Twenty Six_

**Bootler** : Noki was close to make us lose the 'Last Journey' challenge on more than one occasion. It was all thanks to luck that we succeeded in our mission and added fifty thousand coins to our pot. Giving away our plan to that Hammer Sis was not smart at all, unless she is the Mole.

_Flashback **Noki** : Hey! That's a perfect occasion! Let's push her! (the Hammer Sis hears her and steps away from the group)_

**Bootler** : On the other hand, Toad apparently pushed Noki during Mushroom Mix-Up and while he did not exactly push me into the water, I was surprised when he flailed his arms around and tried to dodge but I fell in the process.

_(flashback or Toad swinging his arms as he trips over his own feet, surprising Bootler and making the both of them tumble into the water)_

_ 17. How many siblings does the Mole have?_

_-Zero_

_-One_

_-Two_

**Bootler** : I have two opponents left. I have outsmarted, outplayed and outlasted seven others before them and I believe I can do it again. Only one of us can win, and I want to be this person.

_ 18. How many languages does the Mole speak?_

_-One_

_-Two_

_-Three_

_-Five_

**Noki** : Nobody wants to be the loser, and neither do I. True, I am glad to have reached this point of the game, but I don't want to be the second best. Winning might not be everything, but almost.

_ 19. What is the Mole's occupation?_

_-Butler_

_-Air Hostess_

_-Gardener_

**Toad** : No matter what happens, I can be proud of myself for making it to the very end. I would obviously be disappointed if my opponent beats me, but at least I know that I did my best and it's all that matters.

_ 20. Who is the Mole?_

_-Bootler_

_-Noki_

_-Toad_

…

Night had eventually settled in, plunging everything into darkness. The players had finished their questionnaire for some time and were currently relaxed. Their final ordeal was over. The host looked at them and began to speak up.

"Players, you have now finished your final quiz," Monty Mole started, glancing at the shining moon. He could not distinguish the players' face anymore but he knew they could hear him at such close range. "Your answers have been tallied and we know that one of you is the sole victor of the game. One of you will become two hundred fifty eight thousand coins richer in soon time. Another one will be known as the runner-up, losing the game in spite of their hard work. And the last one will be uncovered as the Mole, the double agent that has been ruining your efforts since the beginning of the game."

Some stars finally appeared in the sky, and the players could only hope that somewhere, their lucky stars were looking out for them.

"And finally, we'll have an answer to the question that has been tormenting our spirits for so long..."

"Who is the Mole?"

* * *

_There you go, the players took their final quiz and one of them has become two hundred fifty eight thousand coins richer... However, the mystery doesn't truly end there for there are still some stuff to take care of. The players themselves still don't know how their adventure ended and there are quite a number of things left to solve, like some players' strategies, the hidden clues and much more._

_Next chapter is the revealing of the winner, the runner-up and the Mole! You can stil vote for who you think the Mole is and say who you want to win this show if you haven't done so yet. _

_Now, sorry for the long wait and the long chapter, there is something which has been troubling me for some time in my life._

_Thus, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Max, my dog, which won't be there anymore when I'll update this story. Thank you for sixteen years of complete happiness and I hope you'll be at a better place..._


	34. The Mole, Out of their Hole

**Cyan Comet** : Thank you so much for your nice review, it really means a lot to me ! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter !

**Champ** : Thanks for the awesome review, I hope this chapter will reach your expectations !

**To the both of you** : Your quiz results are at the end of the chapter. :p

* * *

Previously on the Mole, Bootler, Noki and Toad succeeded in their last challenge, bringing the team pot to a final value of two hundred fifty eight thousand coins. Later that day, the players took the quiz that would end their adventure, the final quiz. Who will see their efforts rewarded and win it all? Who will fail on the brink of winning the whole game? And finally, just who is the Mole?

**First name : Birdo**

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

**First name : Bootler**

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

**First name : Donkey**

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

**First name : Noki**

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

**First name : Toad**

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

**First name : Jojora**

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

**First name : Pauline**

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

**First name : Mario**

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

**First name : Flurrie**

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

**First name : Kooper**

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

34 : The Mole, Out of their Hole

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the grand finale of The Mole : Festive Saboteur!" Monty Mole announced with a grand voice, standing near a television. A brief glance at his surroundings could confirm that he was back in the Moonlight Hotel, more specially in the lounge which had been decorated beautifully for the occasion. Red and yellow, two warm colors, could be seen everywhere in the room and the ever-present curtains heralded the end of the show. They would fall when everything was over.

"Three months have passed since we left the game with Bootler, Noki and Toad taking their final test in that small clearing. Three months of pure torture for our three finalists who did not know how they had done. Well, this isn't really true, one of them knew how they had done, for they were the Mole, the intruder you have been looking for this whole time," the host exclaimed, staring at the camera.

"However, ladies and gentlemen, you were not the only ones who were looking for the Mole. Seven others were trying to uncover the truth amidst lies, treachery, sabotages, deceit and perfidies. Everyone, please give a round of applause to our seven executed players!" Monty Mole stretched out his arm toward them.

"Oh dear!" Flurrie exclaimed suddenly. "Being here brings back so many splendastic and marvelous memories!"

"You can say that again," Kooper agreed wholeheartedly. "Argh, I can't believe I've been eliminated first, there was so much I could have done!" the first eliminated player joked, earning a laugh or two from the former contestants.

"I'm just glad we don't have to stress over our possible execution or who the Mole is this time around," Mario smiled pleasantly. The others could not help but agree with the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Well, I don't know for you guys," Donkey started, "but personally, I've been wondering who the Mole was from the time I was eliminated to...today, actually. I was kind or paranoid in front of my TV screen."

"Not me," Jojora smirked a little, showing her arrogant face. Some of the players groaned but Jojora quickly shut them up. "You should have seen your faces!" the ice fairy laughed to herself. "But seriously, that was true. I knew who the Mole was, I even found a hidden clue to their identity and I tied with one of the other two players and I got eliminated."

"I was so sure it was you!" Birdo blurted out, making everyone laugh once again.

Pauline shook her head in amusement. "It feels so great to be here again. No, seriously, I missed the show when I went home. I even went as far as to take notes about the episodes I missed when the game was broadcast!"

"It has been a while since you last were reunited together, right?" Monty questioned rhetorically. The players nodded in agreement.

"Yes, ever since Kooper's execution!" Birdo grinned.

"You don't have to smile when you say that!" Everyone laughed at Kooper's remark.

"We're still missing three players," Jojora noted smartly. Monty Mole gave her a broad smile.

"Indeed, you are correct, Jojora. Our three finalists are still at large-"

"Oh wait, before I forget," Donkey cut him. "Ah-hem, I wanted to apologize to Flurrie for being rude with her when I was in the game. I'm very sorry and I don't know what happened to me there. Will you pardon me?"

Flurrie shrugged, a motherly smile on her face. "My, how spontaneous you are!" Everyone laughed. "Don't worry about that, I quickly got over it."

"Yeah, me too," Jojora added. "Even if I never had anything against you, actually."

"People sure can change in three months," Pauline pointed out, glad to see that Donkey and Jojora apologized for their rude behaviors.

"Yes, they can, but do they?" Monty Mole wondered, giving a knowing smile to Jojora. The host moved from his spot toward red curtains which had been placed there for the interest of the show. In one swift move, Monty opened the curtains, revealing three green Warp Pipes. "Our three friends are hidden from sight inside these Warp Pipes," Monty explained. "All of them are dying to know who won and who is the Mole but since we're sadistic people, they won't know yet," Monty jested.

The players did not interrupt him, enthralled by his speech. "In soon time we shall reveal everything, but for now, I would like to ask you who you think is the Mole. Kooper, if you will," Monty Mole designated him.

"Hmm... It's kind of hard for me, I mean, I didn't get the time to really play the game... I'm taking a guess here and I'll say that... Noki is the Mole. She was way more suspicious than Bootler and Toad," Kooper voiced, uncertainty in his voice.

Donkey was the next one. "I'd probably say Bootler, because he seemed respectable and everything but it was probably a cover up or something. He looked innocent but looking at what he did during the first two episodes, I think he could be the Mole. Definitely," Donkey asserted.

"Interesting," Monty stated. "Flurrie, would you mind giving us your thoughts?"

"Not at all, dearie! Well, I actually agree with Donkey since I suspected Bootler when I was still playing. There was something fishy about him and he always seemed to hide and fade in the woodwork. A little mole-ish if you ask me," responded the actress delicately, feeling sure in her choice.

"Pauline?"

"Toad, he's a suspect of choice to me," answered the model. "I still remember the first challenge when he mistook Flurrie's dress for mine, it didn't make sense."

"You suspect him because you didn't like the fact that he gave you a big dress?" Monty teased.

Pauline grinned, amused. "No, I suspect him for different things. I was just giving you one of my reasons."

"And you, Mario? Who do you suspect?"

"I'll say Toad too, but don't ask me why, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to! I was kind of confused when I left since we had two questionnaires, so maybe I voted for the right person and still got executed or maybe everyone voted for the Mole... I just can't say," Mario explained.

"Birdo? You should have an idea as to who the Mole is, no?"

"No, I don't know who is the Mole," Birdo answered, giggling slightly. "However! I have my doubts on Noki. I never voted for her, so she could be it. I'd be such a shock if she really was the Mole," she testified.

"And finally, our last executed player, Jojora. Who do you think the Mole is?"

Jojora made an offhand gesture. "I'll keep my mouth shut unless you really want me to spoil your fun," she grinned.

"Okay, I won't ask anymore!" Monty surrendered, holding his hands in the air. "I have some footage for you guys, to jog your memory a little." The host waddled toward the screen turning on the television thanks to a remote control.

_Only three players remain in the game, three players who all had their fair share of sabotages and heroic moments. All of them could be the Mole, however, only one of them is the traitor. Will you manage to tell fact from fiction?_

**Bootler**

Mixed-Up Possessions

For the first mission of the game, the players had to correctly link ten items to their possessors. While most of the players easily scored an eight or more, Bootler was one of the only ones who had a pitiful score. He had the second lowest score, excluding Flurrie, with a four and only earned one thousand coins for the team.

_**Birdo** : Needless to say, Bootler's performance was a let down for all of us. _

Arts and Craps

In the challenge Arts and Craps, Bootler volunteered to be Jojora's partner and one of the artsy players. He was instructed to create a beautiful masterpiece to win the challenge. However, it was later revealed that the goal of the challenge was for Noki and Toad to have a better creation than his team. When Noki told him the requirements of the mission, Bootler did not listen to her and went back to his part of the challenge, eventually costing twenty thousand coins to the team.

_**Noki** : Bootler paid no heed to my warning, which is very strange coming from a focused and dedicated player like him. I warned him, I told him to stop working on his project and even told him what the true objective of the mission was, but in the end he decided to ignore me and go on with his part of the challenge. And then he blames _me_? I did what I could, and that's about it. There was no point in arguing with him since he thought that I had lied. But in my mind, he didn't give a good excuse. I mean, two exemptions on the penultimate episode? That's not going to happen anytime soon. _

Last Journey

During this challenge, the players had to find Monty Mole under a time limit of two hours with six stars in hand. Bootler lost valuable time when he misdirected the team twice, once at Yoshi's Tropical Island and another time in Spiny Desert. Additionally, he lost most of the mini-games : 'Mushroom Mix-Up', 'All Fired Up', 'Avalanche!' and 'Deck Hands'.

_**Noki** : Bootler didn't do much during the challenges which was quite strange. He was almost always the first one out of the games and just didn't seem to try. I didn't know what he was trying to accomplish, but come on, this is the final challenge, you want to do your best, don't you? _

_**Toad** : Yeah, that was kind of weird since Bootler often pays attention to details... _

However, it was all thanks to Bootler's expertise at reading maps and his quick thinking, when he suggested that it would be better to buy a map first, that allowed the players to win the final challenge. So? Mole in hiding or clever thinker?

**Noki**

Jewelry Robbery

The challenge Jewelry Robbery was extremely easy to win. All the players had to do was to steal Holly Koopa's jewel and admit to it when they were interrogated by Mario, the honestest player. However, Noki put a plan together and managed to nab the exemption thanks to Birdo, her coalition partner, costing the team twenty thousand coins.

_**Mario** : Wow... I can't believe I've been fooled by them... Where did Noki's team spirit go? Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed in her. She may not be my prime suspect, but I know better than totally dismiss what she did. _

Family Problems

Before the beginning of the challenge, Monty Mole had prohibited the players from discussing with the loved one they would be confronting. Noki clearly heard the rule, but when Toadette broke the ice with her, she exchanged a few words with her and lost three thousand coins in the process.

_**Toad** : That was weird to see that the shy Noki, who wouldn't speak to us much at the beginning of the game, opened so quickly to my girlfriend. I mean, we waited I don't know how much time to finally hear her speaking to us in the first episode, and now, when Monty Mole specifically told us not to speak with our relatives, she breaks that rule. That's just suspicious. _

Last Journey

During this challenge, the players had to find Monty Mole under a time limit of two hours with six stars in hand. Noki was the reason why the players were so close to losing the final episode, when she blurted out the fact that they wanted the Hammer Sis in the fire during 'All Fired Up'. Additionally, she was the one behind the steering wheel the whole time, was it her fault that the group had a flat tire?

_**Bootler** : We had the perfect opportunity, but Noki ruined it. It is hard not to call that a sabotage. _

_**Toad** : Well, Noki didn't help much either, we almost lost last challenge because of her yelling our plan. _

However, it was all thanks to Noki's intelligence and her ability to deduct things easily, when she discovered the meaning of the three clues put in the letter, that allowed the players to win the final challenge. So? Knowledgeable Mole or careless driver?

**Toad**

Split Homework

During this mission, Toad was supposed to ride a rollercoaster to find letters hidden all over the park that he would later transmit to Mario, who had to resolve an anagram. But Mario was not able to decipher the anagram because Toad never gave him all the letters, resulting in a loss of five thousand coins for the team.

_**Birdo**__ : __Right. As if you hadn't your part of responsibility in this fiasco. Remember that it's only episode two too!_

Feet Versus Wheels

Bootler and Toad had been selected by the other players as the players who liked to wreck havoc and had the possibility of winning an exemption each during this challenge. Toad did his best to make the other group's course as hard as possible and won the exemptions when he chucked a rock at Flurrie's car, damaging it and making the team lose twenty thousand coins.

_**Bootler** : It is obvious that I am suspicious of Toad. Even though I am grateful that he won us the exemptions, I still think that he was fishy during this whole challenge. He was not doing much, and ultimately caused the other team to lose the challenge when he threw a rock at Flurrie's car. Talking about rocks, where did he find it exactly? _

Last Journey

During this challenge, the players had to find Monty Mole under a time limit of two hours with six stars in hand. Toad made the team lose time when he pushed both Noki and Bootler into the water in 'Mushroom Mix-Up' and he did not partake in the mini-game 'Avalanche!' that he could have won, being a regular at Mario Parties.

_**Noki **: Toad is _so_ going to get it. _

_**Bootler** : I must admit that it was quite strange. I can understand that he panicked, but he pushed both Noki and myself into the water... We are now all drenched to the skin and soaking wet, which is not a nice feeling. In addition to that, we lost the opportunity to add a twenty minutes to our timer, so we had to hurry up. _

However, it was all thanks to Toad's quick decisions and adrenaline rush, when he figured out that Mystery Land was their last stop, that allowed the players to win their final challenge. So? Pushy Mole or honest passenger?

The television screen shut off once the footage stopped and Monty Mole turned to the seven executed players, a slight grin on his face. "So? Any change of heart?"

"I don't know anymore, they all seem so suspicious!" Birdo justified, clearly amused by the situation. "I guess there really were three Moles all along!"

"The producers are smart when it comes to confuse us," Jojora agreed, "but I'm fairly sure there is only one Mole."

"I would still say Bootler," Flurrie confirmed with a vigorous nod of the head. "Some of his sabotages were glaring and we all thought that he was trying to make us think he was the Mole, but it could really be genuine sabotage!"

"Genuine sabotage? Really?" Pauline laughed.

"But Toad's sabotages were even more obvious," Mario pointed out, tipping his red cap. "He always had a good position to sabotage."

"Still Noki for me!" Kooper exclaimed. "Everything went wrong with her during most of the challenges. Plus I believe it's the only possible explanation for her to be in the final three. Birdo and her voted for the same person since they were in a coalition, and the night Birdo was executed there was no tie! Which means that Noki had to have scored two more correct answers than Birdo," Kooper deduced.

"But that doesn't mean they both went for the same suspect," Jojora told him, eyebrow raised.

"Well, I suppose we're going to have an answer to your questions very soon," the host announced suddenly. The players were so ecstatic that they were leaning forward in their chair, eyes riveted on the Warp Pipes.

"I think we have waited more than enough," Monty Mole went on, walking toward the three green pipes. In his hands was a small trampoline he had picked up from behind the curtains. "In one of these three Warp Pipes, is the Mole, waiting for the truth to be finally revealed. After a whole adventure of deceit, it is time for the Mole to reveal themselves for the very first time."

"Oh please hurry up, the suspense is killing me!" Donkey let out, frowning.

"My, this is so exciting!" Flurrie chirped in delight.

"Are you ready to learn who the Mole is?" Monty taunted the executed players who were all dying to know the identity of the mysterious traitor. Some of them were chewing their nails while others were tapping their feet on the floor. Only Jojora remained calm and collected, for she had a strong suspicion that she had been right all along.

"Players, I will drop a trampoline in the pipe where the Mole is hidden. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" yelled the finalists at the same time, all wearing a confident expression on their face.

"Okay then, please take a few steps back, I wouldn't want to knock you senseless," Monty warned, smiling. The remaining three shared a laugh. Without any further ado, Monty Mole dropped the trampoline in the middle pipe.

"Mole, come out of your hole," Monty ordered, his voice solemn. The executed players watched the pipe on the right with great interest, most of them wondering who would come out of it.

They all heard a slight noise, as if the trampoline was being moved and it all stopped.

Then, they listened closely and were able to distinguish the sound of someone jumping on a trampoline.

In soon time, their interrogations would end.

Someone jumped out of a warp pipe and landed in the room, all the fallen players gaping at them. The Mole was finally revealed.

"Hello everyone, I am the Mole," the figure said. There was something dignified about them, as if they had rehearsed this scene beforehand.

The Mole had just came out of their hole.

Toad was the Mole.

As soon as the players got over their surprise, they erupted in cheers, laughter and various demonstrations of their joy, surprise and happiness. "Holy crap, it was really you?" Pauline shouted, not caring about the words she used. "I can't believe it!" She carried on, contradicting one of her previous statements.

"Dude! I would've never pegged you as the Mole!" Kooper yelled, surprised.

"Oh boy," Flurrie whispered, still in shock at this revelation. "Who would have thought?"

"I did," Jojora answered, going toward Toad to congratulate him. The Mole hugged her as the other players finally regained their senses and sprang forward to felicitate him for a job well done.

"Dang, you were really good," Donkey told him as he lightly tapped him on the shoulder. "I didn't stand a chance!"

"Toooooad! How could you?" Birdo spluttered. "I trusted you!" she laughed in glee.

Mario clapped for the mushroom, shoving him playfully. "I thought we were friends!" he joked, making everyone laugh. Monty Mole himself was clapping for the Mole.

"It has been a long adventure, and now that we know who the Mole is... I suppose we have to find out who brought the bacon home, don't you think so?" Monty asked mysteriously, a playful grin plastered on his sly face. "Toad, you have been informed of the winner when you were waiting down there, would you mind dropping this trampoline in the winner's Warp Pipe?" Monty inquired, giving him the item he was speaking of.

"Haha, I don't mind at all," Toad answered truthfully. "They were both awesome contenders, it's a shame we can't have more than one winner," he trailed on. The others were all at the edge of their chairs, watching the scene unfold before their eyes. This time, even Jojora was concentrated for she could not know who had won the game.

Toad went to the right Warp Pipe and cupped his hands together, acting as if he had a megaphone in his hands. "Incoming!" he yelled, throwing the object he had put down onto the floor afterward. Toad took a few steps back as the winner made their way onto the trampoline. They jumped out of their own Warp Pipe and were instantly greeted by loud squeals and claps of triumph.

The figured staggered a bit before regaining their composure. Everyone began to holler their name in harmony, earning a huge smile from the winner.

"I did it? I really did it?" A certain excited Boo wondered, pinching himself to see if it was a dream or not. "Ow, that hurt," he cringed, as everyone erupted in a fit of laughter. Bootler was the winner.

Toad went to Bootler and hugged him. "Congratulations, 'coalition partner'." The mushroom smirked a little as he pronounced those words while Bootler chuckled. "Hehe, you figured me out in the end," Toad said as he shook Bootler's hand.

Most of the players were flabbergasted as Toad pronounced those words. "Huh? How?" Mario could not help but wonder.

"How the heck did Bootler win if he was deceived by his coalition partner the whole time?" Kooper uttered in surprise. The others were thinking along the same lines.

"Oh well, this is a very long story," Bootler replied enigmatically as Monty Mole went to him to congratulate him properly.

"Congratulations, Bootler, you are the official winner of 'The Mole : Festive Saboteur!' and the sole owner of the team pot which contained exactly two hundred fifty eight thousand coins! How does it feel to be the winner of such an intense game?" Monty Mole interviewed him as the butler finally realized that he had really done it.

"I am truly in shock!" Bootler commented. "I thought I had no chance of winning against Noki! To be honest, I do not know what to say!" Bootler exclaimed, overjoyed. "You have no idea how much it meant to me, I would not even be there if it were not for my mistress, Lady Bow. I am so happy to have been part of such an adventure, and to win it all... It just seems like a dream, it is too good to be true!"

"Well you were a great player," Toad explained. "I think your efforts paid off in the end."

"Oh, but you were truly a great Mole, you do not know how much doubt you put into my mind, even toward the end of the game, since you were a really good player and Noki was also extremely suspicious in the last challenge," Bootler grinned.

"Oh come on, I wasn't that good," Toad blushed and laughed immediately afterward. "You might want to revise your judgment concerning the last mission, though," the mushroom kept on laughing.

Monty Mole interrupted them before their conversation dragged on any further. "Well, we're still missing one player," he reminded them.

"Oh, poor Noki," Birdo felt sorry for her coalition partner. "She was so close..." The others felt bad for Noki too, but such was the nature of the game. There could only be one winner.

Monty warned the blue-shelled girl that he was going to drop the final trampoline and she soon appeared in the players' field of vision. "Noki, I am very sorry, you are the eighth and final victim of the Mole," the host announced gravely. Noki had a sad smile on her face as she heard the news.

"Let it be said that you played an amazing game as well, and that you deserved your spot in the final three," Monty Mole finished, as everyone began to clap for the inhabitant of Isle Delfino.

"I tried to take on Bootler with a last minute idea but he was way too strong for me," Noki shrugged. "Although it would have been awesome if I had won, I'm still happy I made it this far and the fact that Bootler is the winner makes it all the more easier to swallow," she smiled as the Mole and the winner hugged her. The others were still puzzled by Noki's first statement but they joined in the group hug, sharing memories together.

"I definitely didn't expect those results," Mario told everyone. Pauline shook her head, smiling.

"Me neither. I should be the winner!" she joked.

"Too bad you weren't on the right track," Donkey teased her, chuckling. Pauline continued to smile nevertheless.

"Or was I?"

Monty Mole had a huge grin on his face as he turned back toward the camera. "There you have it! Bootler was the victor and earned the money the team made throughout this game! Noki was the unfortunate runner-up but didn't leave empty-handed, she has had the experience of a lifetime and the pride of discovering who was the Mole! And Toad, well, he was the Mole, the enigma of the game... The Festive Saboteur," the host winked at the camera. "But the show isn't over yet! We still have some stuff to uncover! After the break, we'll take a look at Jojora's strategical game, how did she get eliminated so close to the finale? And we will also take a look at Noki's amazing game, just how close was she to winning the entire thing? That and more to come, on The Mole!"

* * *

_Here are the results of the poll 'Final Episode : Who is the Mole? - SPOILERS-'_

_**Noki : 3**_

_**Bootler : 3**_

_**Toad : 2**_

_As you can see, there is no clear majority! Congratulations to the people who guessed correctly that Toad was the Mole! Congratulations to the people who didn't guess that Toad was the Mole too, you guys were awesome too! I don't know who voted for whom, but I can safely assume what some of you did by reading your reviews._

_I wanted to congratulate Charz for suspecting Toad for a major portion of the game, too bad you finally fell into the Noki trap. But I liked your reasoning. Ice Empoleon was also a good detective, since Toad was one of his top suspicions._

_Koopa2pa, you did find a hidden clue, haha! x) _

_Kris, you spotted at least three clues I believe, but you unfortunately misinterpreted them. XD_

_For those who didn't think Toad was the Mole at all, don't fret, you might have stumbled upon a red herring. There were some pointing at various players hidden throughout the story. The most obvious one being the banana peels littered in Chomp Jail._

_And here are the results of the poll 'The Mole : Festive Saboteur! ; Final : Who will win the game?'_

_**Toad : 3**_

_**Bootler : 3**_

_**Noki : 0**_

_I suppose the reason why Noki didn't win was because most people were suspecting her of being the Mole at the moment. :p It's actually funny how much this story differed from the one I had first imagined. But I'll probably make a trivia chapter later._

_Last thing, Quiz Results!_

**_Champ : 5/20_**

**_Cyan Comet : 3/20_**

_The correct answers were :_

_1 : Green._

_2 : 8._

_3 : Shy Guy Pirate Boat._

_4 : Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep_

_5 : Person who has keen eyes._

_6 : Havoc Group._

_7 : First._

_8 : Luigi._

_9 : Creating a musical arrangement._

_10 : The Mole never got eliminated._

_11 : Flute._

_12 : Noki._

_13 : Looking for items in Horror Land._

_14 : 30 000 coins._

_15 : 1._

_16 : 26._

_17 : 1. (Chapter 24, Toad talks about his brother)  
_

_18 : 2. (Chapter 11, Toad shows that he knows a bit of Dutch)  
_

_19 : Gardener._

_20 : Toad._

_I wanted to thank you all for your support. It was really awesome reading your reviews and suspicions. I hope you were happy with the ending, though it might not matter actually... *hint hint*_

_There's still more to come. Next chapter we'll see Jojora's and Noki's strategies and some of you might be surprised. :p I know there aren't clues leading to the Mole's identity anymore, but I tried to foreshadow some things. :p_


	35. Unfruitful Adventures

**Charz** : Indeed you were. :p I actually wondered why you changed your mind when you were so convinced that Toad was the Mole, lol! I'm glad you like the winner. Truth to be told, I never imagined he would win when I first created the story. I guess the votes in his favor did help him in the end. ^^ And I didn't think Toad was unlikable, I actually like him a lot, hence why he was the Mole. XD I think I'll make a sequel, but I'm not one hundred percent sure. :p Thank you for your time. :p

**Shilo** : Glad you were surprised! And hopefully this chapter answers some of your questions concerning Noki. Don't worry about the reviews! Thanks for your review!

**Cyan Comet** : Did Toad fool you? I tried to make him a little more obvious toward the end... XD Well, Bootler had way more support than Noki, so he won thanks to you guys! Sorry but the clues will be at the end of the story, so...in three chapters. :/ And...I think I gave you the answer to the last photobucket picture... I think. Thanks for your review!

**Herbtail** : Thank you for your vote, unfortunately the story is already over, so... :p

**Cyan Comet (2**) : Congratulations! That was indeed a clue! I was afraid it would be way too obvious but felt like taking risks, besides, I believe people would never think that the clue was addressed to them and not to Toad. XD

**TheGreatAvenger** : Thank you for your review, I'm happy you were surprised. And lol at 'the butler did it'. :p Don't worry about reviewing, I don't review people's story because I want them to review mine, but simply because I feel like it. :p Thanks for your review!

* * *

35 : Unfruitful Adventures

Monty Mole and the players were conversing about various and trivial things during the commercial break, however, it was noted that the discussions often drifted to the recent ending of their game, as well as its surprising results. Someone from the camera crew beckoned to Monty Mole, indicating that the show would soon start again, so the host and the players all returned to their seat. Bootler, Noki and Toad all shared a sofa while the other players had an individual seat.

Monty Mole stared intensely at the camera and gave his most charming smile. "Hey, everyone, welcome back to the finale of this game! At last, we learned who was the winner, Bootler, who was the unfortunate runner-up, Noki, and who was the Mole, Toad," Monty Mole reminded the viewers of the previous events that had taken place a few minutes before.

The three finalists all looked at each other, pleased with themselves. "We've only been playing for a few weeks, but it seriously feels like months have passed," Toad noticed.

"The wait was far longer than the game in itself," Bootler agreed with his former ally. Noki nodded.

"Yes, but now we don't have to stress over the results anymore," she told everyone. "I was just dying to know how I did!"

"Oh yeah, it's true... You guys couldn't say anything either, right?" Donkey realized, now conscious of how hard it had probably been for the three finalists to conceal their feelings from their relatives and acquaintances and hide the truth from them.

"Exactly... Poor Toadette, she was so supportive... She was always telling me that I was surely the winner and that I had probably beaten Bootler because I was closer to Noki than he was," Toad recalled, chuckling. "I couldn't even tell her that I was the Mole, it was hard."

"Well, I bet she is surprised, watching this at home," Monty Mole wagered, a glint of light in his eyes. "Speaking of surprise, who here has trouble believing that Toad was the Mole all along? I know he fooled most of you." Birdo immediately raised her hand, followed by Kooper, Flurrie, Mario and Donkey.

"I am, I mean... The episode when I was executed... I had this long conversation about the identity of our traitor with Toad... I never once suspected that it was actually him! He told me that he was suspicious of Noki and Jojora!" Birdo recalled, prompting everyone to laugh.

Kooper glared playfully at Toad. "Well, as you might recall, I was Toad's roommate. I never considered he could be the Mole and I wanted to form a coalition with him." Toad replied with a sheepish smile.

"Toad was out of my suspect list as soon as he told us about Jojora's plan," Flurrie smiled. "I thought that, if he were the Mole, it would bring unneeded attention to him as well as the hatred of some of his coalition partners. The Mole wouldn't want to be an outcast, now, would they?" the wind spirit questioned rhetorically.

Jojora frowned. "So you did tell them after all..."

Toad shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me, you were the one who started this fiasco, not me!" Jojora looked at Toad's expression and judged that he was sincere enough to be trusted.

"Hmph, whatever I guess. I kind of saw it coming and I agree that it was a bad move on my part, even if it helped me get this far into the game," Jojora admitted.

Mario was amused as he watched their exchange. "Well, even though I said that Toad was the Mole, I'm still surprised. I wasn't executed for nothing, you know?" The players smiled at Mario's modesty. "There were more obvious choices in my opinion, and I fell for them. Oh well, at least I didn't go down for nothing." Jojora gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"He helped us in spite of his injury. At this point, I was screwed because I thought the Mole would never do such a thing," Donkey explained, hitting his forehead lightly with the palm of his hand.

"Well, Jojora isn't surprised because she claimed she knew that the Mole was a mushroom traitor. But what about Pauline? Why aren't you surprised?"

The lady and red gratified Monty with a beautiful smile. "Well, for starters, I suspected Toad just after our first challenge and didn't stop suspecting him until I was executed. It was a foolish mistake on my part, I knew I was doing something wrong but I couldn't back in time. If only I hadn't sneaked in Jojora's room, I would have probably made it to the finale," Pauline declared. "I was executed because of the clue."

"Executed by a clue? It must be a first!" Mario exclaimed.

"Someone has already been executed by a fake clue in the show before," Kooper objected.

"What I know is that I was executed the second I chose not to vote for my top suspect," Pauline sighed. "This is also why I was often around Toad and Bootler, because I was suspecting the former." Most of the players looked surprised at this revelation.

"Indeed," Monty's voice was heard, "Pauline was the first player to suspect Toad in this game. She would vote for other players as well during the quizzes, but her top suspect was always Toad. Pauline was the highest scorer in the first three episodes." Toad clapped for her and a round of applause was given to the fallen player.

"You did great Pauline and you were truly awesome to notice my suspicious behavior at the very beginning of the game," he congratulated her. "Did you know that the reason why I said I voted entirely for you was because I was sure you were going to stick around until the end?" Pauline seemed honored.

Finally, Monty Mole turned to face Jojora, shaking his head and smiling. "Jojora, Jojora, Jojora... You sure were a tricky player, weren't you?"

Jojora smirked as she crossed her arms. "I tried my best."

"Well, you played a very interesting and unique game, Jojora, something much more elaborated than having a coalition with someone and making it to the end with them, for example. You had your fair share of surprising moves, most of them being very controversial and you succeeded in making yourself suspicious without taking out much from the pot."

"It's true that, unlike some of the players, I entered game mode as soon as I stepped off of that green helicopter," Jojora replied calmly. "I did pull some stunts, that's undeniable, and I also tricked the players, that was fun. But that was also hard. Very hard. I'm a perfectionist, not a rude and bossy moron, which is why playing that role was very difficult. You know, in a way, I can relate to Toad's experience."

The others did not understand what Jojora was talking about so Monty Mole decided it was a perfect time to start the video. "Well, let's shed some light on your adventure, shall we?" The host picked up the remote control and started the television. Everyone stared at the screen in anticipation, wondering how hard Jojora's game had been as well as what had been concealed from them.

...

**Jojora's Adventure**

**Jojora** : Hey, I'm Jojora and unfortunately, I am not the Mole.

Entering the game, Jojora was already focused and ready to play to the best of her ability. As soon as she stepped off of the green helicopter, she knew what she had to do. Her main goal was not to find the Mole as soon as possible. No, what she wanted to do was much smarter.

**Jojora** : Discovering who the Mole is is the main goal of this game, I agree with you on that point. However, your first goal entering the game should be to assure your position as a player. You can never be sure of the Mole's identity and should you make a mistake you're most likely a goner. I didn't know who the Mole was, but neither did the other players. So what I did was simple : I acted like a villain, capturing the other players' attention. I knew that some of them were bound to vote for me on the quiz because of the mind games I played with them, so I wasn't worried I would be executed first.

Jojora's ruthless behavior was frowned upon by her fellow players who thought she was unnecessary rude and provocative.

**Birdo** : I'm kinda tired of Jojora's and Donkey's interruptions. I mean, we could be playing the game right now, but nooo, they have to be totally mean and stupid.

However, the same behavior which alienated her from the others allowed her to move on toward the latest stages of the games, as she had convinced some players that she was the Mole during the first episode. Kooper was her first victim.

**Kooper** : Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Birdo could have won the first mission for us. But nooo, she forgot to label her own item, and that's really suspicious if you ask me. The only item which wasn't labeled was her own, maybe she didn't want to feel guilty afterward, who knows? However, Jojora and Flurrie are my prime suspects, and I know I must split my answers between these two if I want to survive. Dang, this '-1' is stressing me out! I'm feeling the pressure...like, literally.

**EXECUTED : KOOPER**

During the first episode, Jojora had also befriended another contestant : Donkey Kong. This led to the first alliance of the game.

**Jojora** : (about the mission 'Treasure Hunters') I'm happy to be with Donkey Kong but at the same time I'm a little disappointed, because I think he isn't the Mole and that I will be disadvantaged.

Jojora formed an alliance with Donkey for more than one purpose.

**Jojora** : Donkey and I are in a coalition, which is great. With someone like him on my side, I'll have an easier time convincing people to do stuff that I want them to do. Also, I'm pretty sure Donkey isn't the Mole, but he still is suspicious in the others' mind. I could use this to make the others vote for him on the quizzes.

Together, Jojora and Donkey decided to target Flurrie. While Donkey targeted her because he hated the fact that she had wasted the team's money by two times to get herself exemptions, Jojora had an ulterior motive.

**Jojora** : If we make her life as miserable as we can in this game, she'll eventually give in and vote for me on the quizzes. It's psychological, she won't be able to withstand the pressure from Donkey's and my assaults. Besides, it makes me really suspicious and stands out even more than before. This is great because if the attention is focused on me, the Mole will have an easier time blending in the background.

And Jojora's plan worked, once again. People began to suspect the two of them even more as the group they were in completely failed the first challenge of episode two, 'Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep'. Donkey's penalty in the first challenge...

_Flashback **Donkey** : Are you kidding me? They say I have to take my shoes off! These stupid sheep shit everywhere! No way I'm gonna take them off, and that's final. _

**Mario** : That really makes me suspicious of Donkey, because he always makes mistakes... At first I thought it was unintentional but now I doubt it. That's a little too much if you ask me.

...and Jojora's own cheating, during the 'Split Homework' challenge, led some people into believing one of them was the Mole.

**Flurrie** : When you think about it it was really suspicious of Pauline and Jojora. I don't know how long was their ride, because they strangely didn't want to tell me, but I highly doubt that they had to sabotage. They could have tried to memorize them... Cheating is a suspicious move, at least for me.

At the end of episode two, Jojora and Donky had recruited Mario, Pauline, Bootler and Toad in a giant coalition which purpose was to eliminate Flurrie. Once again, some players found the idea very fishy as Jojora was going to great lengths to make sure Flurrie would be gone.

**Pauline** : Toad remains my first suspect, with Bootler as a close second, but I'll have to say that Jojora and Donkey are becoming more and more suspicious as time goes. Joining this coalition is for the best as I'll be able to study them.

**Bootler** : The Mole would not want to be in the spotlight. Or would they?

However, at the end of the day, it was Donkey Kong who was executed by the Mole. He did not follow Jojora's advice and decided to vote for one suspect only, this suspect being Flurrie. Needless to say, that was not going according to the ice fairy's plan.

_Flashback **Jojora** : (very angry) I knew he wasn't the Mole. That's bullshit, he should still be here instead of someone... I can't believe it._

**EXECUTED : DONKEY**

However, although Donkey's elimination did sadden the inhabitant of Joke End, it also helped her in the long run : if Donkey was eliminated, it could only mean one thing ; Donkey had voted for someone who was not the Mole. And the only person he would have never voted for was his coalition partner, his partner in crime, Jojora.

**Noki** : I don't want to speak ill of him while he isn't here, but you have to admit that part of our failures were directly linked to him. He brought a lot of drama into the game. Hopefully, it will be over now that he is gone, but knowing myself, I probably jinxed it once again. I also am wary of Jojora, because now that Donkey is gone and if she is the Mole, she can use his execution as an enormous pretext to sabotage or to bring more drama around.

**Birdo** : Since Donkey's execution, Noki and I greatly suspect Jojora of being the Mole. Let me explain myself... It is really unlikely that Donkey voted for her thus making him the second victim of the Mole. She sabotaged plenty of challenges, but she always blames the other people, like Flurrie for example, and gets away with this. Obviously, we said nothing to Flurrie because, well, for the final episode, there will only be two players and the Mole. We don't really want to leave someone behind but I guess we'll have to if we include her in our alliance.

Both Noki and Birdo were suspicious of Jojora at this point. Their suspicions only increased as episode three unfurled before them. During the previous episode, Jojora had formulated a plan in her head. First, she was to make a big alliance, which worked as her alliance contained five members, more than half the contestants still in the game. Second, she was to execute Flurrie in the third episode. But how was she going to do that?

**Jojora** : I still plan to execute Flurrie. How, will you ask? Well, she said in the previous episode that she suspected Bootler of being the Mole. I'll just have to convince our dear Boo to do the job properly. Easy-peasy.

Asking Bootler to sabotage at least one challenge, Jojora also wanted to test the Boo.

_Flashback **Bootler** : (shooting up from his position) I am sorry but I do not wish to. _

**Jojora** : Not to toot my own horn, but it was really a good idea. Because I could see where Bootler was standing in all this. If he had been the Mole, he would have accepted as soon as I suggested the idea, but he was reluctant. It would be stupid for the Mole to refuse such a good alibi to sabotage. At that moment, I knew Bootler wasn't the Mole and erased him from my list altogether.

Hunting for the clue left by the Mole, Jojora managed to be the only one getting it, which meant that she had an advantage over everyone else.

**Jojora** : Those fools... I can't believe they didn't question me further... I mean, they don't see that I'm in total control of the game right now? If I wanted to, I could keep the clue for myself. Of course I won't, unless they decide to break our contract.

Not to mention that her plan was not exactly fruitless, as Pauline's acting skills, along with Bootler's, Mario's and Toad's, managed to make Flurrie doubt Bootler.

**Flurrie** : Pauline just told me something really interesting. Maybe I'd want to share it with Noki or Birdo. Or maybe I wouldn't want to. It confirms my suspicions anyway, even if I'm not one hundred percents sure he is the Mole.

Unfortunately, when Jojora decided not to show her clue to her coalition partners, they began to distrust her. The ice fairy had made her first mistake. For the first time in the game, she was not sure she was controlling everything : the others could reveal everything to Flurrie, Noki and Birdo, making her entire plan useless. Accusing Toad of being the one who smuggled notes which said 'I know' in everyone's bedroom was the last straw for some of them, namely the gardener, the model and the butler.

_Flashback **Pauline** : As if she would do that... If it weren't for the fact that you have the clue, I'd have already left this alliance a while ago. Just saying. (Pauline smiles bitterly)_

Later, she shot herself in the foot even more as she refused to show the clue to anyone. This action completely jeopardized her game as she was now an outcast even amongst her previous partners. Only Mario was faithful to her, and even then he was still interested by Jojora's clue.

_Flashback **Mario** (crossing his arms) : Well, if they don't want to form coalitions, that's fine by me. I can try to regain Jojora's trust so she will give me what I want. _

However, unbeknownst to anyone, that night, Jojora's plan worked perfectly. Flurrie did vote for Bootler on the majority of her questionnaire and she decided to go home on her own accord. However, in spite of this success, Flurrie was not supposed to bite the dust that night. Bootler and Toad shared a lot of common answers, so the mauve cloud spirit would have stayed in the game regardless of her results. One player, who had voted entirely for Jojora was supposed to be executed : the pink dinosaur, Birdo.

**EXECUTED : FLURRIE**

Continuing her charade, Jojora progressed within the game, eliminating people she deemed trustworthy from her suspect list. With herself and Bootler out, Jojora decided that Mario could not be the Mole either, which left her with four suspects : Toad, Pauline, Birdo and Noki.

**Jojora** : I'm almost sure it's one of the girls. I'm leaning toward Pauline and Noki, they are smarter than Birdo.

During 'Family Problems', Jojora encountered some difficulties when it came to choosing everyone's task. Pauline, Bootler and Toad still resented the fact that Jojora did not share her clue with them, while Noki simply did not like her that much. Only Mario decided to please her, to regain her trust.

_Flashback **Mario** : (looking at Jojora after Toad suggested he should play against Chucklissa) Yeah, I'll do this one. Hopefully it's not impossible to win... _

Jojora failed her own part of the challenge, sacrificing Noki's right to see Pianta to cover her own charade. In doing so, she made an enemy of Noki and Birdo who thought Jojora had done it on purpose. The ice fairy would later confess her guilt in a confessional.

**Jojora** : I really didn't want to do this, but it isn't like I had the choice. Truth to be told, winning this challenge would have meant that I knew how to deal with people and help them, and that was in total contradiction with the way I've acted until now.

**Noki** : Jojora, I can't believe you lost... I'm almost sure you lost on purpose. You're really selfish, and if you are the Mole, I can't believe you would stoop so low...

But when Jojora was reunited with her loved one, Chucklissa, she decided to form yet another coalition, this time with the red-clad plumber : Mario. She even told the viewers how hard it was pretending to be the Mole.

**Jojora** : I knew Mario would win. I'm really grateful for what he has done. I might even show him the hidden clue, since I'm so good. No, but seriously, I really wanted to see Chucklissa, that will give me a boost, and hopefully I can rest a little. The days that went by, I had to act and to put myself in character. You don't know how hard it was, to be hated from everyone, but it's all part of my strategy.

Mario agreed to form a coalition with Jojora, and it's then that the blue fairy thought she could win the game easily. Mario and Jojora had a conversation about the clue which was not shown by the producers.

_Flashback **Mario** : (sitting on Jojora's bed) I think the clue might point to Birdo. She's always doing wishy-washy things, like she will say something and do the complete opposite. Besides, it says that the Mole is 'the worst traitor' we've ever since. So maybe it points to her because she's not exactly subtle._

_Flashback **Jojora** : (rubbing her temples) But the same applies to Noki. Do you remember the third challenge, she was on your team I believe. She left the windmill in order to get some water for Birdo instead of carrying on with the challenge. This is doing things upside-down. If you see someone struggling you try to finish the challenge faster, you don't drag it on like she did. _

_Flashback **Mario** : 'Looks can be deceiving'... This works for the two of them, they seem trustworthy. Well, at least we know it's one of these two, don't we?_

_Flashback **Jojora** : Yeah. Plus, if they really trust each other, one of them will fall soon enough, and then we'll know who to target. _

While Jojora thought Noki or Birdo was the Mole, Birdo and Noki were even more convinced Jojora was the Mole.

**Birdo** : Our plan seemed to work, and I definitely think it will help us later on, since Noki and I mostly suspect Mario and Jojora. Well, we also suspect Pauline Toad and Bootler, but we think the most suspicious ones are the hero and the fairy. Especially the latter since we sabotaged almost all of the challenge. Blatantly, sure, but it was still sabotage.

The mission 'Under the Spotlight' only reinforced Jojora's suspicions about Birdo and Noki. The former, when she told everyone that the ice fairy was the one who told her not to learn the lyrics of the song and the latter when she conveniently fell onto Toad's computer.

**Jojora** : I know for a fact that I never said such foolish things, meaning that Birdo lied. She could have lied to protect someone or maybe she lied to make me look suspicious because she's the Mole.

For a brief second, during that episode, Jojora suspected the true Mole when she realized that everyone, Toad included, could have erased the remix. In the end, everyone suspected everyone but the Mole, and Pauline was sent packing that night, just after she had decided to take a huge gamble and vote for Mario, Noki and Bootler.

**EXECUTED : PAULINE**

Because Mario and Jojora had both managed to get past Episode four, they were convinced that the Mole was either Birdo or Noki.

**Jojora** : Making it to the final six isn't an achievement for me. I'm going all the way to the final, if everything goes as planned. As far as I know, the game's going pretty smoothly for me, I see no reason why that would change.

Once again, Jojora decided to play selfishly and volunteered to be one of the four people who could win an exemption during the 'Exemption Roulette' event. She knew that it would be better for her if she got an exemption, in view of the fact that three of them would be winnable for that episode.

**Bootler** : The play-style of everyone's favorite sculptor becomes stranger as the time goes... She just does not seem to play fairly and always has her way, through blackmail or shady deals . Mario was the only one who could reason her, but somehow, he stopped doing that. I think that they are in a coalition, despite the fact that Jojora is a manipulator. Everyone seems to disregard her as the Mole, because she is too obvious but I find their argument invalid. Everyone can be the Mole.

In the 'Mansion Nightmare' challenge, Jojora was almost out as soon as the game began, which made several players think that she was actually sabotaging, when in fact, she had just been surprised by the walls closing in. Birdo was especially suspicious of Mario since he was the 'hero' of the challenge.

Taking their next quiz, Jojora was the only one who realized that the episode was not over yet, showing yet another sign of her smartness.

_Flashback **Jojora** : (laughing) If you guys had listened, you should have known that three exemptions could have been won during this episode. However, we clearly only had the opportunity to win two of them, hence why this episode isn't over yet. _

When the team had to select the honestest player of the game, Jojora chose Mario. She knew that everyone would most likely elect him unanimously, so she did not fuss about not being chosen.

_Flashback **Jojora** : As much as I would like to disagree with everyone else, I have to say Mario. _

However, when they boarded the train, Jojora thought of a plan to obtain the exemption.

**Jojora** : Actually, I didn't plan on stealing that jewel right away, because otherwise, the others would know that I was the thief and I could kiss it farewell. I just gave them enough incentive to look for it. That way I wouldn't be the only suspect.

Unfortunately, her plan was not foolproof as Birdo managed to get her hands on Holly Koopa's jewel before Jojora hatched a plan. When Mario came to investigate the case, Jojora pointed out that Birdo was not around the place she claimed she was at, at the time of the theft. At the end of the challenge, when it was revealed that Noki was the reason why the players had lost the game, Mario and Jojora decided it was ample time to take some risks, and they voted entirely for Noki on the second part of the quiz.

**Mario** : I've changed suspects throughout the entire episode, and now that comes the time to choose, I'm not sure I made the right decision.

**EXECUTED : MARIO**

Mario's elimination was the turning point in Jojora's game. Both her and Mario had decided to go for Noki, both her and Mario had voted for Noki, yet, only Jojora remained. Knowing that Mario was a trustworthy man, she felt secure enough to remove Noki from her suspect list. Bootler was out as well, so only Birdo and Toad remained.

**Jojora** : How delicious. There goes my coalition with Mario. Exactly when I needed him the most. Now it's me versus the other four. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to work with that. I mean, this show is about who's the Mole and so far, I narrowed it to two suspects. Maybe this episode's victim will clear my remaining doubts.

Once again, Jojora was an outcast, except that it did not matter much that time, because she had almost unraveled the mystery behind the Mole's identity. During the 'Lost Castle, Lost Digits' challenge, she decided to explore Mario's Rainbow Castle accompanied of Noki and Birdo who was now her prime suspect. Birdo's strange behavior did not go unnoticed.

**Jojora** : I'm even more suspicious of Birdo than before! I mean, she looks like she's the hero, but if she was the Mole, she wouldn't need to worry about taking risks, since she knows what happens and what doesn't happen.

Later that day, she decided to worry Bootler and Noki, telling them that she sure two players could not be the Mole. Bootler, who had just discovered who the Mole was earlier that day was not afraid at all and Noki, who was suspecting the fairy, was not that much bothered either.

**Noki** : I wouldn't tell her, but I was impressed. While Bootler and I were lost in a desert, Jojora had already figured the game. She's a dangerous player, no wonder she hasn't been eliminated yet. Oh wait, I must correct my phrase. I meant to say that she was a dangerous Mole, not a dangerous player.

But in truth, Jojora had already uncovered the Mole by that time, and was quite confident she would not be eliminated. Indeed, after Mario's elimination, Jojora had studied the clue she had obtained and had drawn some conclusions from it.

_Flashback **Jojora** : Toad is the Mole. I am now one hundred percent sure that the clue pointed to him. Listen and you'll understand. 'Although I am somewhat doing things upside down it does not mean that I do not have my head on my shoulder'. Toad rode the rollercoaster during episode two, so he was doing things upside-down. I'm sure the clue points to him because I recalled Monty telling us that the clue would have been meaningless if given during episode four or five._

But Jojora was not feeling as secure as she let it seems and she split her vote between Birdo, who had been one of her prime suspects, and Toad, because she thought the clue pointed to him. Meanwhile, Birdo voted entirely for Jojora, and ended up being the sixth victim of the Mole.

**EXECUTED : BIRDO**

Jojora was sure. There was only one possibility that would explain how she managed to reach the second-to-last episode. Since five of her answers were voided, because of Birdo's elimination, it could only mean that the five answers she put toward Toad saved her, thus making him the Mole. However, she was now in trouble, because she had a gut feeling that Noki also knew that Toad was the Mole.

_Flashback **Jojora** (after Birdo's execution) : However her execution definitely shakes things a bit. It might change _everything_... _

The ice sculptor knew that Bootler had to know that Toad was the Mole, otherwise he would have been executed instead of Birdo.

**Jojora** : Toad is the Mole, Bootler must know that since they are in a coalition. And in spite of Birdo's elimination, Noki seems confident. Could she really have understood that Toad was the Mole...?

Brushing aside that thought, Jojora focused on her true goal : winning the game. During the 'Arts Versus Craps', she noticed suspicious behavior coming from everyone, but she kept on targeting Toad.

**Jojora** : Toad seems to be blaming me for the sabotages which happened during the challenge, but he isn't really clear of all suspicions. How did he know that this challenge involved reverse psychology? And if he knew, why didn't he oppose more resistance instead of just going along with my proposal? Besides, he said that he wasn't much of an artist, but the creation that he and Noki made was imaginative. And Bootler honestly didn't do much during the challenge. He sat here, doing nothing, and when he could have helped by telling me that he had met Noki, he chose not to. Everyone's a suspect. But Toad's the Mole.

Always thinking ahead of time, Jojora made her list according to the many scenarios that could occur later.

**Jojora** : I put Toad in the middle. Why? Well, if I put him first, he might play an important role in the next challenge, while if I put him last, Monty could tell everyone that I distrust him the most. Noki in the end, so that if Monty reveals something it won't have any incidence on my game. Plus, she could get a minus one if I do that. Bootler first because I trust him the most, I can count on him if he has a special role in the next challenge. Besides, he knows who is the Mole, so if he gets an exemption it won't matter much. At this point, I'm pretty sure it's between me and Noki for the last spot of the finale.

In the end, she barely missed out on the finale, beaten by Noki by a mere twelve seconds. Bootler took five more minutes than them but scored a perfect ten and moved on to the final episode of the game.

**EXECUTED : JOJORA**

Even though Jojora had a remarkable game plan, in her heart, she knew that she would probably lose the game anyway.

**Jojora** : This game is all about information about the Mole. I knew who they were, but I didn't know that much about them. Even if I had managed to beat Noki or Bootler and reach the finale, I would have probably lost.

Indeed, both Noki and Bootler had been around Toad much more than the ice fairy, and they knew information about his personage, such as the number of languages the gardener had mastered, or the number of siblings he had.

**Jojora** : Tricky. This is how I would define this game. When you think you finally have a chance at winning, reality appears before your eyes and confuses you. In my case, I knew that Toad was the Mole, but Bootler and Noki knew more about him than I did. Such a shame, to realize all the shortcomings of my strategy once I'm eliminated.

However, in spite of her image as a ruthless player, Jojora still managed to have fun.

**Jojora** : If given the opportunity, I would gladly do it again. Except that I would completely change my game-play. Sometimes I was cringing at my own harshness, it kind of killed some of my feelings. Being ignored by the others was also pretty hard at times, even though I must admit that they were irritating me from time to time.

Jojora was a player full of surprises, but overall, she managed to accomplish what others failed to do : identify the Mole. For that, Jojora will go down as the smartest strategist this series has ever known as well as the most dedicated player of this season. Jojora brought a new way to play the game and will be remembered for that fact.

_(a final image of Jojora's famous smirk is shown on screen)_

…

The players clapped for Jojora, dumbstruck, as the sculptor nodded to herself, smiling at the praise she received. The true Jojora was now unmasked, the things she had concealed from everyone finally revealed.

"I must admit, you were quite the contender," Bootler let out, finally, as the others regained their spirit. "I never thought someone would have a strategy as developed as yours," the old butler complimented, clapping once again for Jojora.

"You sure fooled me!" Kooper exclaimed jokingly, earning a grin from Jojora.

"So, how do you all feel about our prodigy, now?" Monty Mole questioned the players.

"I'm baffled," Birdo stated simply. "I mean... I have no other word... You can't begin to imagine how shocked most of us are right now, right guys?"

"True," Toad confirmed, giving a smile to Jojora. "I mean, I was the Mole but even I didn't know that. I just thought she liked to be mean to everyone. Oh, and nicely done for the clue," he winked, giving the inhabitant of Joke End a thumbs-up.

Mario nodded. "I'm also glad to see that my departure helped you in a way."

"Oh dear!" Flurrie gasped. "You only persecuted me because I was grabbing all the exemptions?" Flurrie wondered.

Jojora shrugged. "Yeah, besides, it would have been strange if I had chosen to change victims. I was sure you weren't the Mole, so that's why I wanted you out, you were threatening enough as it was."

Monty Mole had a huge grin plastered on his face. "I must admit that I'm feeling better now that I know that your insults were a way to provoke us."

"Oh well, I had to sound mean, which is why I verbally attacked almost everyone here. In all seriousness, I was really delivered when you told me I was executed," Jojora recalled, grimacing a little. "I mean, I was disappointed because I didn't reach the finale, nor did I win the game, but I could finally stop pretending I was a moronic villain." Everyone began to laugh at this line, including the fallen player.

"Now, I have a question to Birdo and Noki. How did you girls go this far into the game believing that Jojora was the Mole?" Monty Mole asked.

Birdo chuckled. "Well, I suppose it was mostly luck. For all I know, I escaped elimination once and there was one time when I had an exemption, so it helped."

"I'm glad I took the bribe," Flurrie piped in as Birdo gave her a big smile.

Noki giggled. "I didn't entirely vote for Jojora, although she was my main suspect. When Flurrie decided to take the bribe, I hadn't put all of my answers on Jojora, I would always try to score a minimum of answers for everyone."

"You probably avoided elimination a lot thanks to this strategy," Pauline smiled warmly. "Argh, I wish I hadn't trespassed into your room!" Jojora gave her an annoyed glare but her expression soon changed as she began to smirk.

"Well, now that you know a little more about Jojora's journey, let's take a look at what our runner-up did!" The host shouted as he started the television again. The noise died down in a record time as every player stared at the screen, giddy with excitement at what was to come.

…

**Noki's Adventure **

**Noki** : Hello everyone, my name is Noki Delphis and I'm very happy to be part of this game!

In the beginning, Noki was lost. Without any mark, the shy inhabitant from Isle Delfino had a hard time adjusting to the game as she had no idea how to fit in. Being far away from her home and surrounded by complete strangers, she did not know how to start her own game until Birdo spoke to her to make her feel more at ease.

**Noki** : I'm not what you might call a loud person. I tend to be shy around strangers and I'm not one to put myself forward... I need more time to feel confident, or maybe I just need someone I can talk to...

Opening her heart to Birdo, Noki was finally able to start playing.

**Noki** : I needed to have someone I could confide in, to me it's important to have someone you can trust in a game where you're supposed to distrust everyone. If you don't trust at least one person, you'll never get to experience all the fun because you'll be paranoid.

During the first challenge, called 'Mixed-Up Possessions', Noki scored an eight, while her friend scored a nine. Birdo's score confirmed Noki's feeling that Birdo could not be the Mole and from then on, Noki never really suspected Birdo again. Early in the game, the two friends suspected Jojora, Pauline, Donkey and Bootler.

_Flashback **Jojora** : I thought Bootler had the journal because he's old, you know. Maybe he would like to write his memories, I thought. _

_Flashback **Noki** : But it had my name on the first page. (Jojora puts her hand to her mouth)_

However, when everyone began to give Flurrie the cold shoulder, Noki was the only one who stuck up to her and convinced some players to forgive Flurrie and visit her, showing one of her qualities : her heart of gold.

_Flashback **Noki** : Maybe... Maybe we should go, to see her? She will probably be happy to see us. _

Unbeknownst to the two partners, their behavior combined with the fact that they had failed the first part of the challenge 'Treasure Hunters' led some people into believing that one of them was the Mole.

**Donkey** : I suspect both Flurrie and Noki to be the Mole. The first, well, I guess I suspect her for obvious reasons. But something is just fishy about Noki. I can't believe she could be the shy goodie-two-shoes type of player. Her actions contrast with her personality : she screwed up more than she helped.

**Kooper** : Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Birdo could have won the first mission for us. But nooo, she forgot to label her own item, and that's really suspicious if you ask me. The only item which wasn't labeled was her own, maybe she didn't want to feel guilty afterward, who knows ? Dang, this '-1' is stressing me out ! I'm feeling the pressure...like, literally.

**EXECUTED : KOOPER**

Some people started to suspect Noki during the first episode, and their suspicions would later be confirmed during episode two, where Noki piled up suspicious acts of sabotage after suspicious acts of sabotage. Much to her ignorance, the others were beginning to suspect her of being the Mole. Exiting the windmill to find water for Birdo was also seen as the most obvious sabotage up to date by Mario, Pauline and Bootler who were all waiting for instructions in the greenhouse.

**Pauline** : Noki could be the Mole. She just gave us a clue like that, not knowing whether or not she had the right to do so. I'll watch her every moves from now on.

**Mario** : That definitely wasn't a smart move on Noki's part, seeing that all three of us were suspicious of her. And just when we were finally getting somewhere too...

_Flashback __**Bootler**__ : Well, Noki reached the highest peak of my Mole Suspects List. Then it is Flurrie and after her, I put Jojora who knows more about the game than she lets it seems. _

Meanwhile, Donkey was at the top of Noki's Mole list. The fact that he lost every challenges pitifully raised a red flag in the blue-shelled girl's mind. Not to mention that Noki was still looking at the banana peel as a possible hidden clue.

**Noki** : Donkey is the most suspicious player around here. He completely failed the first challenge, he and Jojora failed to bring back a clue during the second challenge, and now we have a penalty of five thousand coins because of him? Add to this the banana peels and you have an ideal suspect.

The air hostess also befriended Flurrie, the victim of Jojora's and Donkey's machinations, which would later put her in the minority group but let her gain more confidence as the episodes went by. Noki felt confident enough to erase Flurrie from her suspect list, as she thought that the actress was a genuine player.

**Noki** : Flurrie can't be it. She just can't be. She doesn't strike me as the type to sabotage and except for the exemptions, she never wasted the team's money.

When Monty Mole asked the players who they would want to see leave the game, Noki answered with no surprise that she wanted Jojora out of the game.

_(flashback of Noki shaking her head as Monty Mole asks her about her motives)_

During the same event, the blue-shelled girl was surprised to learn that Toad was suspecting her because of her actions during the 'Floral Composition' challenge. It was the first time that someone clearly told her that they thought she was the Mole, Noki believed that up to that day, everyone thought she was a genuine player. Since she did not know that Toad was the Mole yet, she wondered if she really seemed suspicious.

**Noki** : Toad said that he suspected me. Am I really suspicious...?

Thanks to Toad, Noki realized that her overall shy demeanor, her natural discretion and her actions throughout the game were making some of the other players distrust her. She had a natural talent to act as the Mole and deceive everyone.

**Noki** : It made me think. What if I used my personality as a way to make people vote for myself on the quizzes? Since I'm not the Mole, I could easily 'execute' some of the players, and my friends and I could survive the eliminations.

However, even if she knew that she could easily toy with the others, Noki decided that adding money to the team pot was her top priority. She wanted to win the game and believed that it would be better if there was much more money in the pot. Noki had elaborated a strategy to look like the Mole. At times, she would let out little tidbits of information which only purpose was to confuse the others and at other times, she would play the challenges strangely.

**Noki** : You know, from time to time I would 'slip up' and say strange things, I would try to win the challenges in a odd way. Basically, I just wanted to make my game-play suspicious.

And her strategy worked. Even though Noki was the reason why the team won the 'Split Homework' challenge, the way she answered the questions and riddles only strengthened the others' suspicions.

**Bootler** : There was practically no way of knowing the answer to this riddle. Riddles are like mysteries. One never understands them the first time they hear about them. But should they hear them again at any point of their life, they will recall the answers. Do you see where I intend to go with this reasoning? Unless Noki heard about them before, she had no way to know the answer to such hard enigmas. And what better way she had to hear about them than to be the Mole?

**Jojora** : Come on. Donkey told me that Noki was right from the beginning to the end. He also told me that she was almost always the first one to come up with a response, and that only a few seconds after the host had asked it to her! If that's not suspicious, then I don't know what it is.

In the end, Noki split her answers between Donkey, Jojora and Bootler. Her top suspect was eliminated that night.

**EXECUTED : DONKEY**

With her prime suspect executed, Noki put two and two together and came to the conclusion that Jojora was probably the Mole. Jojora and Donkey had sabotaged a lot and were always pairing up, since Donkey had been executed it was only logical to assume that Jojora was the Mole. Her partner, Birdo, also thought along the same lines.

**Noki** : Donkey and Jojora were always together, and I suspect they had a coalition, which is why my top suspect is now Jojora. The one person Donkey would have never voted for is her hence why she's very likely to be the Mole.

During the 'Clue Hunt' mission, Noki and Birdo decided to split up to cover more ground. Birdo went alone while Noki looked for it with Flurrie. Unfortunately, the two friends never found the clue and returned to the hotel empty-handed. Birdo also received a penalty because she was late, which, added up to the previous suspicions, made her a very good suspect in the eyes of the others.

**Jojora** : They always reminded us of how Donkey was screwing up here and there, but nothing has ever been said against Birdo, and she does the same thing he did. Her sabotage is subtle, I'm not really sure whether the others have noticed it or not – not that I really care about their opinion to be honest – but she's always goofing up and everything. And of course nobody is blaming her, because, well, she's Birdo.

As soon as Noki and Flurrie came back from their search, they were fooled by Jojora's accomplices who had the task to convince them that Bootler was acting suspicious.

_(flashback of Noki and Flurrie eavesdropping on the others as Pauline made a scene)_

Fortunately for the girls, Jojora's plan would later be foiled after Noki and Birdo overheard it.

_Flashback **Jojora** : Yep, that's about it. I especially suspect you, Toad. I think you are more likely to jump ships than the other three. So yeah, I won't say it to anyone, and if I happen to hear that you talked to Flurrie or the two other girls during that episode – about the game of course - I won't tell you what's inside this envelope. I'm sure it would hurt your game if you were to break the promise you made yesterday. (Noki and Birdo are seen gasping behind a house)_

Immediately, Noki decided that the best course of action was to warn Flurrie about the alliance which was created in order to get her out of the game. Once warned, Noki devised a plan in order to sow confusion in people's mind.

_Flashback **Noki** : I know what we could do! Listen, information is the key, right? So here's what we are going to do..._

Noki, Birdo and Flurrie all wrote the words 'I know' on several sheets of paper which were later slipped under the doors leading to the players' rooms.

_(flashback of Noki and Birdo awake at night as they put the papers in the other players' rooms)_

**Noki** : The plan was simple. We would distribute the papers to the others and wait. The words 'I know' are actually here to stir up trouble. They could mean anything from 'I know you are the Mole' to 'I know your underwear is blue'. I think my idea worked perfectly because it confused Jojora and her group, nobody knew what was going on and distrust spread out among her coalition. In the end, she blamed Toad who didn't know a thing about the notes. I felt bad for him, but at least it was the beginning of the end for her alliance.

Noki's plan worked better than she had expected, for at the end of the episode, everyone turned against Jojora and she was the only one who had the clue in her possession. Since the inhabitant of Isle Delfino was thinking that Jojora was the Mole, it meant that the clue was useless to her.

_Flashback **Birdo** : We're so lucky! She's the only one who has the clue and it's useless to her! (Birdo giggles as she makes the victory sign with her fingers)_

_Flashback **Noki** : I know! Everyone's on the same level now._

Noki also made a friend of Toad, during the same episode. Unbeknownst to her, she was actually befriending the saboteur she had to identify.

_(flashback of Toad and Noki walking around the marketplace, smiling and laughing as they told each other jokes)_

That helped her, as at the end of the episode, Toad revealed Jojora's intentions to the three girls who were not part of the alliance. However, it also did not benefit her in a way, as she believed that the Mole would have never played like Toad.

_Flashback **Noki** : I'm sorry girls, but I didn't learn anything about their plan. When I was spying on them, all Jojora did was pointing fingers at Toad about the notes we had put under their door. After that, Toad got really angry and decided to leave their alliance, soooo... I decided to follow and comfort him. _

_Flashback **Toad** : You're weird...in a good way. Actually, I'm kind of glad that you're all here. Jojora's plan was to make Flurrie think that Bootler was the Mole. I don't know if he really is a genuine player or not though. That was a pretty bold and huge gamble on Jojora's part. I told you what I knew, so good luck with that. I have no way to determine if Bootler sabotaged because he wanted an exemption or because he was following Jojora's orders or even if he did it because he is the Mole. Once again, good luck. _

**Noki** : There's no way Toad's the Mole. The Mole wouldn't tell us as much information as he did because they want the players to be misled.

Noki had erased the Mole from her suspect list toward the end of episode three. She and Birdo voted principally for Jojora that night, basing some of their answers on Pauline and Bootler too. Flurrie took the bribe and spared Birdo from the execution, but in doing so she also prevented Noki from knowing that Jojora was not the Mole.

**EXECUTED : FLURRIE**

Feeling sure in her suspicions, Noki thought she had correctly identified the Mole. She was falling for every little thing Jojora did to rattle her and throw her off.

**Noki** : Game-wise, I believe I'm in a great position, right now. Currently, and as far as I know, Birdo and I are the only two persons in a coalition. Jojora may have the clue to the Mole's identity, but we maintain good relationships with the other players. And anyway, a clue is useless if you can't understand it or if you're the Mole.

Although Pauline's and Bootler's actions were questionable during the challenge 'Family Problems', Noki kept on focusing on Jojora and her complete failure. Additionally, Birdo, who was watching the whole challenge, was able to tell her what happened in details.

_Flashback **Birdo** (to Noki) : At first I thought she was going to win, and I think she probably tried a little because she knew I observed her. But then, when Pianta started to struggle, she immediately threw a fit and totally blew the challenge. Very suspicious._

_Flashback **Noki** : And she could afford losing her challenge because she knew everyone would be able to see their relatives regardless of the results..._

Strangely enough, the results of the challenge made Jojora and Mario suspect the two girls. The alliances were suspecting each other while the real Mole, Toad, could sit back, relax and watch as they would fall one after another.

**Toad** : I love being the Mole.

Noki and Birdo also used every trick in the book to determine whether Jojora was the Mole or a genuine player. When reunited with their loved ones, Noki and Birdo had the ingenuous idea to use Pianta and Yoshi as informants.

**Birdo** : So Noki and I had this genius idea! Well, more Noki than I, but whatever. We're going to use Pianta and Yoshi as informants. Actually, all they're going to do is talk and listen to the other loved ones, but it's great anyway, because we'll gain information on people that usually say nothing about themselves and who, unlike myself, are quite secretive. Like, for example... Bootler and Jojora.

Unfortunately, the results of this enterprise made Noki and Birdo even surer that Jojora was the Mole. They completely discarded the possibility that Pauline was the Mole but still considered Bootler as a potential suspect and added Mario to their list, even though he was not as high as the ice fairy.

_Flashback **Pianta** : Chucklissa told her that Jojora was extremely sweet, not judgmental at all, that she despised hypocrisy and that she was a really great girl, basically. (Noki and Birdo look at each other, eyebrow raised)_

_Flashback **Noki** : Huh...? This isn't like her at all. In this game, she's been a drama queen who likes to stir up trouble._

_Flashback **Yoshi** : The Boo princess. She wouldn't say a thing about Bootler, so we gave up after a few tries. She was very clever and allusive when she answered our questions, so we basically have nothing on Bootler._

Noki and Birdo also kept on doing fishy things to confuse the others. During the challenge 'Under the Spotlight', Noki messed up on her task of creating Birdo's dress...

_(flashback of Toad and Mario staring at the hole located on the wrong side of Birdo's dress)_

...but Birdo immediately came to her rescue.

_Flashback **Birdo** : What's the matter? (Mario points at the dress as Birdo laughs) Did you already forget that I'm a fashion designer? I know how to fix stuffs like that, and even if I were not able to do it, Jojora could mask it in the video._

**Noki** : All of a sudden, we were turning the tables on them. They couldn't know that we were messing up and covering for the other on purpose. Our sabotages were subtle and didn't cost money for the team, but combined with the remix incident, they looked incredibly suspicious.

After that, Noki 'tripped' on the table where Toad's computer was located, sending everything tumbling to the ground...

_(flashback of Noki falling to the ground)_

...but Birdo defended her...

_Flashback **Birdo** : Not to sound obvious or anything, but she simply tripped._

...and even the Mole defended her.

_Flashback **Toad** : I sincerely doubt it's because of Noki's fall that my music vanished. Guys, you know how to use a computer, and you know how it works, right? Then, you must understand that someone erased the remix from the computer, and then emptied the trash can to get rid of it. I'm sure that even Bootler knows that, meaning that everyone could be the culprit. You would only need to act quickly while nobody looks at you to get away with it._

At the end of the challenge, Birdo blamed Jojora for something the fairy had not done, making herself and Noki even more suspicious.

**Jojora** : I know for a fact that I never said such foolish things, meaning that Birdo lied. She could have lied to protect someone or maybe she lied to make me look suspicious because she's the Mole.

However, Pauline was the one who was unfortunately sent home that night, and the feud between the two alliances would live another episode.

**EXECUTED : PAULINE**

Still in the game even though she was completely wrong about who the Mole was, Noki was feeling pleased with herself. She even continued to display the image of the shy and indecisive girl in game and during some of her interviews.

**Noki** : Sometimes, I think that I stole the spot of some players... Like Flurrie, for example... I can't stop to think that maybe there is a possibility that she knew that I was going home and that she saved me from my fate. I have no idea as to who the Mole can be... It's episode five, you would think that I have at least one tiny idea, but I don't. I'm really desperate right now... If only there was an efficient way to make it to the end with Birdo and the Mole, that would be perfect.

During the mini-challenge 'Exemption Roulette', she was also nominated almost unanimously. She thought it was because the others liked her, but she could not have been more wrong.

**Jojora** : It doesn't matter if she gets the exemption, she's probably the Mole. Her or Birdo.

**Mario** : Well, I don't care if she wins the exemption, I think she's the Mole so it wouldn't benefit her in the slightest.

**Toad** : I couldn't care less about the results of this challenge, I just wanted to sound genuine.

**Bootler** : Well, if the Mole obtains the exemption, we should be fine. Now that my prime suspect is gone, I suspect Birdo and Noki. Toad would be my third suspect.

Indeed, half of the players was suspecting her at that point of the game. Birdo eventually won the exemption which helped their coalition.

In the 'Mansion Nightmare' challenge, Jojora was the first one out of the game and was also the person who had told Toad not to open the envelope which contained the layout of King Boo's Mansion. It was then that Noki and Birdo decided to vote completely for Jojora.

**Noki** : Jojora pulls perfect information out of thin air, she sabotages almost all the time she is given the opportunity and always seems to know the twists of this game in advance. The only way she can know that is if she's the Mole.

Noki and Birdo voted for Jojora during the first part of the quiz, confident that they would stay in the game.

_(flashback of Noki nodding to herself as she left the computer after she had finished her quiz)_

In the third challenge of the episode, the players elected Mario as the honestest player as it was the most sensible thing to do. Noki created a very good plan so that Birdo would be able to steal Holly Koopa's emerald incognito.

_Flashback **Noki** : We have to strike just before the cars are switched around, because then Mario won't be able to pinpoint our exact movements. I'll lie and say that you were with me in the economy class car, so you'll have to claim the same thing. We need to steal the emerald when Holly isn't looking, which means that we'll have to make her leave her seat. _

_Flashback **Birdo** : How about I drink a lot of water in front of her?_

_Flashback **Noki** : Excellent idea, except that we need you to stay hidden otherwise she could identify the thief. Once you've stolen the jewel, exit the car and smash the emergency alarm. Everyone will be panicked so you should be able to remain unsuspected. Hide the jewel during that time and we should be golden!_

Noki's and Birdo's behavior during the challenge also confirmed Jojora's, Mario's and Bootler's suspicions about them.

**Bootler** : To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. It is partially my fault, I was responsible for the loss of one thousand coins. However, I will note that Mario paid no heed to our claims. Jojora and I specifically told him that Birdo was not where she said she was. I cannot take blame for that. I must say, however, that I underestimated Noki. I will definitely keep an eye on her from now on.

Protected from the execution thanks to their exemptions, Birdo and Noki escaped their fate that night. Indeed, Birdo was the lowest scorer, followed by Noki and then Mario. Bootler was the only one with a decent score as he had answered some questions for Toad.

**EXECUTED : MARIO**

Yet another ally of Jojora had bitten the dust. It was the only thing that mattered to Noki as she entered the sixth episode of the game. She did not need any more confirmation that Jojora was the Mole, to her the facts were speaking for themselves.

**Noki** : Mario, I am very sorry for what I've done yesterday. I know that you probably won't see that until after the game is over, but I wanted to say it. I can't help but think that I did the right choice when I took that exemption, for a number of reasons, though. Your elimination confirms that Jojora is the Mole and taking the exemption made me more suspicions than ever, which is good in this game.

The 'Lost Castle, Lost Digits' challenge allowed Noki to observe her prime suspect as the boys took one aisle of the castle and the girls another. When they were taking the challenge, Noki and Birdo all sent each other signals each time they noticed that the fairy was doing something strange.

_(flashback of Jojora exiting the first room they visit with Birdo and Noki raising an eyebrow in disbelief)_

Jojora asked for the alliance's help when she decided to move the heavy armors on a special tile, wasting the team's precious time, which further increased Birdo's and Noki's doubts.

**Noki** : We could have used only one armor but it was Jojora who insisted that we carry almost all of them so that we'd be able to explore the next room together. When Birdo and I saw what was inside the next room, we literally smacked our forehead. We were so stupid, Jojora was obviously wasting time.

After that, Noki thought that Jojora was trying to stall for time by frightening them in the room that were testing their courage. Birdo, sensing that something was amiss, dipped her hand in the container and won herself a plus one. Once again, the coalition interpreted the fairy's actions as sabotage. In the next room, when Jojora took the initiative to gave her visions of the mini-challenge, Noki and Birdo were extremely wary of her.

_Flashback **Birdo** (to Jojora) : But why? I thought you said you didn't entirely lose that challenge? _

**Noki** : I was kind of doubtful of Jojora at the time, because she interpreted the rules that were given to us. I mean, for all we knew, she could have known the signification of the clue and fooled us. You never know what to expect in this game.

At the end of the challenge, Noki and Birdo had both seen enough. Enmeshed in their tunnel vision, the two girls could not see that Toad and Bootler were also likely suspects. When Noki discussed with Jojora, she tried to appear cool and collected.

**Noki** : I wouldn't tell her, but I was impressed. While Bootler and I were lost in a desert, Jojora had already figured the game. She's a dangerous player, no wonder she hasn't been eliminated yet. Oh wait, I must correct my phrase. I meant to say that she was a dangerous Mole, not a dangerous player.

The next day, Noki found a clue leading to the Mole's identity, but she would not find its meaning until she took the quiz. She decided to sabotage one last time, when she brought back a cello instead of a violin during the 'Instrumental Search' challenge.

**Noki** : I'll make it look like it was an honest mistake, just like the Mole is supposed to do.

Unbeknownst to her, Jojora and Bootler were both on Toad's track, and the Mole could not be fooled by her behavior, which meant that the only person who could doubt her was Birdo, her coalition partner. Obviously, Birdo did not suspect her friend. One of the game's biggest twists happened that night. Noki had answered for questions for Jojora on the quiz when she suddenly realized the true meaning of the clue.

_Flashback **Noki** (sitting in front of a computer, taking her quiz, a look of realization on her face) : Oh my god... Jojora isn't the Mole actually... It's Toad! The clue I've found tells us to reorder the sentences, but when you actually do so, it would hide its true meaning! (she looks one more time at her clue) I think the initials are a red herring... If you take the first letter of each sentence, you get 'M-U-S-H-R-O-O-M, and Toad is a mushroom. How could I've been so blind? I just hope Birdo will manage with her plus one..._

But Birdo voted entirely for Jojora and was executed, leaving Noki without a partner.

**Noki** : Birdo did so much for me in this game, I'm glad I met her. If I had tried hard enough, she would probably still be there, that's why I can't help but feel guilty... I owe her so much... (she wipes her tears)

**EXECUTED : BIRDO**

Without Birdo, Noki felt like Jojora in a way. The butler and the gardener had a coalition, which, in her eyes, meant that the two of them would reach the final. Noki had a feeling that her only chance to make it to the finale was to beat Jojora.

**Noki** : Jojora knows who the Mole is, and although Bootler has a coalition with Toad ever since episode five, he has yet to be eliminated, which means that he's probably on the right track and knows that Toad is the Mole too. I don't know if I should try to play the game correctly or sabotage the challenges...

And Noki had a plan to evict Jojora from the game.

**Noki** : This entire game revolves around information, doesn't it? Then, all I have to do is befriend Toad and ask him personal questions, all of that without the others doubting a thing!

It was an opportunity for Noki, when the groups were split in two pairs for an apparently long challenge. She obviously seized it and decided to be Toad's teammate just after he had chosen his group.

_Flashback **Toad** : I'll be in the other group, then._

_Flashback **Noki** : And I'll join Toad._

Isolated from Bootler and Jojora, her last competition, Noki took the time to observe Toad's actions during the challenge and gave him free reign, letting him do as he wished. She was still shaky at that point, and did not know whether she had passed the previous quiz by chance or because she had uncovered the true meaning of her clue.

**Noki** : It could still be Bootler... Those two are _always_ together.

But Noki noticed Toad's sly sabotage in the first part of the challenge 'Arts Versus Craps', where he had a really inventive and original idea for their workpiece which would later be the reason why the group lost ten thousand coins.

_Flashback **Toad** : Oh yes! Sorry, I was a little excited. Well, instead of doing abstract art, let's make something related to symbolism! _

_Flashback **Noki** (looking confused) : That's the exact opposite of what you just said, though, why the sudden change? _

**Noki** : The Mole knows beforehand what the twists and games are, which would explain why he decided to do something decent instead of something completely horrible like abstract art.

Noki also showed everyone that she knew to play mind games. Without Toad's knowing, Noki extracted vital information from the mushroom, information that figured in the last quiz.

_Flashback **Noki** : That's the kind of thing my sister would have loved to do. It has been such a long time since I last saw her... (she sighs as Toad looks up in surprise)_

_Flashback **Toad** : You have a sister? I never knew that. I also miss my brother, now that you mention it. _

The blue-shelled girl tried to warn the old Boo when she came across him in the room where junk was lying, but Bootler refused to listen to her, which confused her.

**Noki** : Bootler paid no heed to my warning, which is very strange coming from a focused and dedicated player like him. I warned him, I told him to stop working on his project and even told him what the true objective of the mission was, but in the end he decided to ignore me and go on with his part of the challenge. And then he blames _me_? I did what I could, and that's about it. There was no point in arguing with him since he thought that I had lied. But in my mind, he didn't give a good excuse. I mean, two exemptions on the penultimate episode? That's not going to happen anytime soon. And Toad kept on changing his mind. At the beginning of the game, he wanted to make something abstract, and after that he decided on symbolism. He said that we had enough things in the vase, and a few minutes after that he wondered whether we had enough items in it or not. I miss Birdo, it was easier when she was here. Who is the Mole? Toad or Bootler?

In the 'Distant Memories' challenge, Noki realized that Toad was far more useful than he ever was before, and she thought that he might have hidden his smartness throughout the challenges to pass off as an average thinker.

**Noki** : Toad definitely knew the answers because he was almost always giving us the right answer seemingly out of nowhere. The fact that he knows so much is suspicious in itself, of course the Mole would know everything. And just when we were about to win, he told us Mario wrote the second-to-last journal entry. If Jojora hadn't reacted, we would have lost. He's pretty devious when you think about it.

When she made her list, from the most trustworthy to the least honest, Noki took into account the fact that the last exemption had yet to be found. Thinking that the list was relevant, in some kind of way, she put Toad at the top. If he was the Mole, an exemption would be useless to him. Bootler was in the end, in case the person trusted the least would have an advantage. And Jojora was in the middle, that way, she would not have any advantage.

**Noki** : Making this list, you have so much things going through your mind. You wonder how it will affect the game and this late into the game it's only natural to be suspicious of everything.

Ultimately, Noki's suspicions were correct and Toad, the one she thought was the Mole, had a special role for the next challenge. Even if it was easier for him to sabotage, Noki knew that she had made the best decision.

**Noki** : I could sacrifice ten thousand coins for an opportunity to reach the finale. I had a feeling he wouldn't take the exemption anyway.

In the end, it came to speed. Noki was able to stay in the competition because she beat Jojora by twelve seconds.

**EXECUTED : JOJORA**

**Noki** : I took a huge risk tonight and voted entirely for Toad. I tied with Jojora and I'm so thankful to still be here today... How do I know that I'm the one who tied with Jojora? Well, Bootler always takes a loooong time during the quizzes, so if he had tied he would have been executed, as simple as that.

However, even though she had reached the final episode, Noki knew she was in for a tough fight against Bootler.

**Noki** : Bootler and Toad... They've been discussing the game ever since day one. Bootler probably knows much more than I concerning the Mole. And I barely wrote anything about Toad anyway, as my prime suspect was mostly Jojora... I'll still try, but I know it'll be hard.

In the three Three Questions mission, Noki decided to sabotage as much as she could, hoping to make Bootler change his mind about who the Mole was. She completely sabotaged the first round and gave lame excuses, playing on emotions to make it look like she was the Mole.

_Flashback **Bootler** : I replied Noki. Not that I believe that she is a coward, but because Toad and Toadette are in a relationship. As far as I recall, their story started a few years ago. Now, compared to him and his relative secure relationship, there was Noki, who is single as far as I am aware._

_Flashback **Bootler** : For this one, I followed the same logic I had before. Now, I was not particularly happy when Monty asked me this question, however I had to give him an answer. I hope you are not offended, but I chose you, Noki, for you have less restrictions than Toad since you are not seeing anyone._

_Flashback **Noki** : I'm sorry, it seems like you were right, Toad._

In her own round, she smiled to the players as she realized that they were not able to find her.

_(Flashback of Noki smiling cheerfully as she appeared in the distance of Grand Canal)_

**Toad**: What the- Did she really smile at our defeat? Like, I thought _I_ was the Mole?!

She also messed up a question quite badly.

_Flashback **Bootler** (stuttering) : But why? Your first answer was perfectly sensible. _

But then, during Toad's round, the mushroom made an obvious sabotage and Noki herself doubted that her sabotage would come to fruition because of this.

**Noki** : There was nothing hard about this question. Nobody in their right mind would imprison a girl instead of a boy.

In the last two challenges, Noki tried her best to win the games for the team, hoping to add more coins to the team pot which could have very well been hers at the end of the game.

_(Flashback of Noki navigating on the computer expertly)_

_(Flashback of Noki finding the books easily in the bookshelves)_

_(Flashback of Noki laughing with glee as she skied away from an avalanche)_

Noki even shared with her fellow competitor, Bootler, that she knew that it was between the two of them through a cryptic exchange.

_Flashback **Noki** : It's because the goal of their parties is to earn the most stars, and the stars each cost twenty coins._

_Flashback **Bootler** (eyebrow raised) : You sure did your homework. _

_Flashback **Noki** (winking) : Yes I did, I'd rather be prepared for what's coming next. Wouldn't you? _

_Flashback **Bootler** (smiling and nodding at the same time) : I suppose._

Knowing that Bootler was very confident in himself, Noki tried in a last tentative to shake his confidence.

_Flashback **Noki** (talking about the quiz) : I'm going to take it as fast as I can. In case of a tie, I should win that way. I've been studying my journal like crazy and I think I know almost everything about the Mole, so I shouldn't worry. _

Noki said this to make Bootler rush and hopefully make him lose some points on the quiz. Unfortunately, it was not enough to worry the imperturbable ghostly being who took the quiz as he was used to.

_Flashback **Bootler** : Slow and steady wins the race._

Noki scored two less points than Bootler and was the Mole's last victim.

**EXECUTED : NOKI**

Noki might have lost the game, but she did not lose anything in partaking in such a nerve-wracking game. She knows herself that she had a good time.

**Noki** : In my opinion, you are a winner if you don't feel sore about losing. I'm happy with what I did, I believe what I did was the correct thing to do and I won't tell myself 'if only I had done this instead of that' or 'If only I had done this another way, maybe I could have won...' I'm not regretting anything.

Even though the game was particularly hard on her in the beginning, Noki learned to adapt in an environment that was not hers.

**Noki** : I thought I would have been the first one eliminated! Really! When I look back, I realize that I was afraid for nothing! This game has been nothing but fun, I truly am in debt of that producer that I met at Delfino Airport... Without him, I would have never been able to enjoy the game. Him and my lucky star.

Noki showed everyone what she was made of by reaching the finale and beating seven other players in the process, figuring out things that some of them were unable to figure out.

**Noki** : Reaching the finale is an accomplishment in itself, because it means that you've correctly identified the Mole, and not everyone can boast about that fact. Only a select few reach this stage of the game. I'm part of this group and I'm proud.

All in all, The Mole was a unique experience that Noki will cherish forever.

**Noki** : There is something unbelievable about this game. You are thrown into it with no mark. All you have to do is identifying who the Mole is, but for the rest of it you're basically free to do anything you want. It's...strange. Something even stranger : all the players you befriend on the show... They actually are your competition, you shouldn't feel sorry about them when they are executed, but you do! There are so much things I've learned throughout my journey, that it doesn't matter anymore whether I win or lose the game. Well, winning would be a nice bonus.

Noki was an extremely smart player, and she showed it throughout the missions. Noki outsmarted a vast majority of the players, fooling them into believing she was the Mole and for that, Noki will go down as the smartest player this series has ever known, surpassing even the lawyer from season one, Francesca Von Birdetta. And that is why Noki completely deserved her spot in the final three.

_(a final image of Noki's cute giggle is seen on screen)_

..._  
_

Monty Mole used the remote control to shut off the television and turned toward the players, eyebrow raised. They all had their mouths agape, which made the host chuckle. "So? Not so bad for someone who was considered as the most innocent player of the show, right?"

Most of the players could barely respond to Monty Mole, still in shock over what they had seen. Finally, Birdo regained her senses and commented. "You did a great job, girl, I didn't even know that we were suspicious or that you were sabotaging on purpose!" Birdo clapped for her friend and was soon followed by everyone else.

"That was a real surprise," Jojora noted, nodding to herself. "I think you were high on everyone's list."

Noki let out a small giggle. "That was the point of my entire strategy. When we first started the game, I was so lost that I didn't know what to do, but thankfully you guys thought I was acting and started to suspect me. Obviously, I wasn't going to decline your votes for me on the quiz," she added slyly.

"What about Birdo?" Mario questioned, eyebrow arched. "She was sabotaging every challenge, I doubt she wasn't on Noki's plan..."

The pink dinosaur shook her head strongly. "As I said to Monty some months ago, the only time I sabotaged was aboard the Excess Express, and that was for an exemption. Please note that I now realize how suspicious I was, but it wasn't on purpose. I swear."

Noki quickly agreed with her friend. "It's true, I never told Birdo I was sabotaging on purpose and I never asked her to sabotage either, except for the exemption. As you have all seen, if I hadn't taken the exemption I would have been eliminated instead of Mario."

"My, my, dearie!" Flurrie exclaimed delightfully. "I would have never guessed you were such a little devil!" she teased playfully, earning a smile from the blue-shelled girl.

"Toad, how much would you say Noki has helped you throughout the game?" The host wondered aloud.

"She helped me tremendously. I swear, if it weren't for her people might have started to suspect me by episode three or so, but she was so suspicious that almost everyone thought she was the Mole. However, I think that it was the players in general which helped me go unnoticed through a vast majority of the game. Donkey, Jojora, Birdo, Pauline, Noki and even Bootler in some way, they were all suspicious," Toad explained thoroughly.

"How about you, Pauline? I think the clue you first received in the 'Clue Hunt' challenge was the reason why you stopped voting for Toad."

"Well, I thought it was strange how there were only two palm trees in the entire town," Pauline began her tale, "which is why I decided to investigate alone. I asked different people around, went to the town hall to pursue my investigation and I learned that the palm trees had been imported from Isle Delfino a few days prior to the beginning of the game. Naturally, I found that suspicious and decided to vote for Noki... I don't remember why I decided to vote for Mario instead of Toad and Bootler already was one of my suspects. Basically, I misinterpreted the clue, which cost me my place in the game," the lady in red sighed. The others' eyes grew wide.

"You sure were a dedicated player," Bootler clapped for the fallen player. "I think that you would have reached the finale if you had not been executed at the end of episode four." Pauline shrugged modestly.

"I'm floored," Kooper was still staring at the screen in disbelief.

"Psh, I knew there was something strange about her," Donkey boasted. Kooper only rolled his eyes in amusement.

"I'm glad some questions were answered," Jojora grinned. "So, what's next?"

Monty Mole smiled as he turned toward the camera. "Next on The Mole, we'll finally shed some light upon the winner's journey in this game. Just how Bootler managed to identify his coalition partner as the Mole? What was his stance in the game? And right after that, we'll finish with the Mole's own adventure. How did Toad do to throw off his competitors? When did he lie and when did he tell the truth? What was his strategy? That and more to come, stay tuned!"

* * *

_Sorry this chapter was long to make, but it's actually the biggest chapter I've ever wrote with 14k words or so._

_I know it's very lengthy and that some of you might not really be interested in everything, but I saw some reviews saying things along the lines of 'I hope everything will be revealed', so I'm revealing everything. :p Hopefully, that was satisfying enough! If you still have some questions about Jojora and/or Noki, feel free to ask in a review or a PM._

_Next up are Bootler and Toad. _

_I also wanted to dedicate this chapter to my grandmother who passed away. May you rest in peace, Mamie._


	36. Successful Journeys

**Shilo** : Lol, I thought this chapter wasn't going to be as long as the previous one but they are actually the same length. So yes, I guess it can become quite long if you don't set limits or something. I loved Elavia, really she was my favorite player. I'm glad you liked Jojora, she was a central character in this story, perhaps moreso than the Mole himself! And I'm glad you liked Noki's strategy too! Those two have always been important characters in the story, and I wanted to show exactly how they played because it's always interesting to know stuff like that. Thanks for the compliment and your review too! You were an awesome player in Kris' Mole game too. x)

**Cyan Comet** : Don't worry, I often review late as well because either I think I've reviewed or don't have the time to do so or simply forget. XD I'm glad you liked Jojora and Donkey (it was a surprise to me when you said Donkey was your second favorite). But yes, they were unique. Ah, when I said 'smartest' I was saying...smart-like. *shot for not being competent* If you want a comparison, Francesca Von Birdetta didn't even reach the semifinal of the first story but was still the most intelligent player around. Jojora's game was the best, but Noki was the most intelligent player so far (like, she knew all the answers when there were enigmas and stuff like that), if you see what I wanted to convey. I do agree that Noki's game was bad compared to Jojora's. Yes, it was kind of sad for Flurrie, but hey, it's a competition. XD Same here, Mario was supposed to stay longer but was eventually executed because he was too much of a team player. He was also a favorite of mine. *shot for having way too many favorites* Thanks for your review!

* * *

36 : Successful Journeys

The players and their host were all regaining their place after a short commercial break which had let them exchange a few words together without being disrupted by the cameras. This time, Noki and Jojora were the stars of the show, their adventures having been displayed in the open. The shy Noki and the assertive inhabitant of Joke End had shown that they were capable of playing an intense game and as such, the other players all had something to ask them. Monty Mole clapped his hands together and cleared his throat one last time, before speaking up.

"Hello everyone and welcome back! Previously, we finally understood what was hiding being Jojora's icy façade as well as Noki's motives for sabotaging a lot during most of the challenges!" Monty Mole winked to the camera as he continued. "I bet a lot of you are surprised at home, watching this, and I'm sure the players are still in shock as well!"

"You bet I am!" Birdo chirped, taking the spotlight from her host. "I mean, I didn't know all of that and Noki was my coalition partner! I can't believe she managed to do so much behind my back without me noticing a thing!" Mario laughed a little.

"Now you understand why we were suspicious of the two of you."

"Yeah, I guess I can understand."

"Noki's game impressed me," Pauline smiled truthfully. "In a way, it resembled mine... Well, I didn't last long but still, I believe we played similar games." Noki returned the smile as she stared at the ground, embarrassed by the praise.

Flurrie nodded slightly. "And I believe Jojora also deserves a round of applause for a magnificent game." The players all clapped once again as Jojora waved her hand to stop the flattery.

"I'm more interested in the game Bootler has played," she declared truthfully as the claps died down. "After all, he was the one who managed to win the whole game. I would be interested in knowing how he got thus far while he was in a coalition with the Mole," Jojora added as she stared at Bootler, a glint of light in her eyes.

"Oh well, I admit that I benefited from some advantages and also was very lucky not to be one of the first players eliminated," Bootler confessed modestly as everyone, except for the host and the Mole, looked at him in amusement.

Pauline raised an eyebrow. "Really? You always seemed so confident. That was actually the reason why you were one of my suspects early in the game."

Bootler let out a chuckle. "Well, I would not have wanted everyone to be aware of my weakness." The lady dressed in red smiled.

"I can tell that you did really well," Noki congratulated him with a smile. Bootler was too embarrassed and would not accept the compliments.

"You all seem to think that I am some sort of godly player!" Bootler exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Truth is, my journey was not as exceptional as Noki's or Jojora's. I only realized Toad was the Mole when we were five left in the game!"

"Hey! That's around the same time as Jojora!" Donkey butted in, a look of realization hitting his face.

"Even still, it was quite late in my opinion," Bootler told him. "Especially when you consider that I was always around the Mole and that he had asked me to be his coalition partner on day one." Toad grinned at this remark.

"Thankfully, you didn't accept," commented the mushroom, laughing as he saw everyone's face.

"Geez, I actually wanted to form a coalition with Toad. I was so doomed from the very beginning," Kooper chuckled heartily. "God, it's awful being the Mole's roommate!"

"Yeah, it really sucks that we didn't get to enjoy the game that much," Donkey agreed wholeheartedly.

"Well, there's more than that," Monty informed. "Let's take a look at Bootler's adventure in the game in more details," the host demanded as he took a remote control and pushed one of its button. The television flicked on and everyone looked at it, dying to know what the adventure of the winner was like.

…

**Bootler's Adventure **

**Bootler** : Greetings, everyone. My name is Bootler Majordome, and I am pleased to tell you that I am a genuine player.

When the game first started, Bootler did not really know what to do. Should he act suspicious or should he stay true to himself? Should he help the team or should he keep his abilities hidden? There were so many questions flying about that Bootler had no idea how he was going to play the game. Additionally, being the oldest player of the game, Bootler had a hard time to fit in.

_(Flashback of Bootler being isolated from the other players at the very beginning of the game, when Monty Mole left them before the first challenge)_

**Bootler** : I eventually decided that the results of the first challenge would shape my game. If I managed to complete it successfully, I would try my hardest for the missions we would face later on. However, if I did not do that good, I decided that I would 'fail' from time to time.

And so it was decided. Bootler's poor performance in the first challenge motivated him to act like the Mole and already some players looked at him as a possible suspect. It was also then that Bootler chose that he would not change his personality at all to play the game.

**Bootler** : I am calm, collected, and somewhat mysterious if I may say so myself. I do believe that those are good character traits in such a game.

**Birdo** : Needless to say, Bootler's performance was a let down for all of us.

Bootler was also seen as a focused yet way too knowledgeable player. His ability to foresee some events and twists during the game would often raised a red flag for the other players.

**Mario** : Bootler seriously surprises me. Whenever he says something strange, Monty Mole announces us that something will happen, or he gives us directions or things, like the journals. In my mind, I think that even an obvious Mole can be the Mole of this game show.

**Flurrie** : It wasn't much, but I knew we reached a common ground. Bootler is a strange person, but I realized that he had many good qualities ; he is smart, understanding, logical, and he stays in the background. He will be a fierce competitor, despite his age, I know it.

Early in the game, Flurrie was one of Bootler's suspect for the Mole, along with Pauline.

**Bootler** : One day she is just desperate to be forgiven by everyone, and the other she is just coming back to her usual self. Something is telling me that what she did yesterday was just plain fake. I will follow her every moves from now on.

And his suspicions would be confirmed when he talked with Toad, who was suspecting the two of them. At that time, Bootler did not suspect Toad that much and decided to trust him.

_Flashback **Toad** (about why he thought Bootler was a genuine player) : Well, I don't really know. But what I know is that tons of other players are suspicious... Flurrie, Kooper, Mario, Pauline, you name them. _

However, Bootler was still on his guard and would not agree to form a coalition with the mushroom just yet, which was his saving grace.

**Bootler** : To be honest, Toad's suggestion was quite appealing. However, I would like to play the game by myself. Although this coalition would benefit me, I think we should not rush things. And I am not forgetting that he still could be the Mole, despite the fact that he somewhat seems innocent.

Bootler cheated his execution that night, having scored at least a two for everyone, whereas Kooper was not as lucky with his minus one.

**EXECUTED : KOOPER**

Episode two began, and Bootler was glad to still be part of it. His biggest fear was to be the first one executed.

**Bootler** : You have no idea how relieved I am, to know that I was not the first victim of the Mole. I thought I would leave first, it was haunting me. Paradoxical, isn't it?

The first challenge of episode two worked out in Bootler's favor. Indeed, even though Flurrie was on the other team, he was with Pauline, his top suspect, as well as Birdo and Noki who were not completely innocent in his mind.

**Bootler** : You can never trust anyone in this game unless you have definite proof they are not the Mole.

The old butler quickly noticed Pauline's uselessness during the challenge.

**Bootler** : Pauline strikes me as a great choice for the Mole. Being somewhat refined and listening a little too much to herself, she could sabotage the missions very easily without our knowledge, since we would think that she is being herself.

The Boo also had the opportunity to talk with Pauline in private during the challenge and was able to confirm his suspicions when Pauline told her who she suspected.

_Flashback **Pauline** : Well, you know, it was during the second challenge actually. Mario and I, we had to discover some sort of white stone which hid our clue. But during this challenge, the battery of our flashlight died on us. Pretty suspicious when you think about it, because I never touched it. So it must have been Mario's doing._

**Bootler** : As much as it kills me to say so, who in their right mind would suspect Mario, of all people, to be the Mole? I knew she was lying to me.

In spite of that, the most suspicious person during the challenge was Noki and she raised tremendously in Bootler's Mole list after the challenge, rising above Flurrie, his second suspect. When the players were asked who they wanted out of the game, Bootler was surprised to hear that Flurrie wanted him gone.

_Flashback **Flurrie** : Well, yet another time, Bootler proved us he was sly. Sly players are threats, wouldn't you say so? _

Bootler began to consider that Flurrie was perhaps a legitimate player.

**Bootler** : The Mole would not care about a player being a threat and now that I think about it, it is true that Flurrie glances at me from time to time, eyebrow arched. Could it be that she considers I am the Mole? If so, it is rather good for me.

In the next challenge, Pauline sabotaged yet another time, cheating and making her anagram worth only two thousand coins instead of five thousand, thus, Bootler decided that he would still be voting for her as she was the most suspicious. However, Noki's abilities did not go unnoticed by the old ghost who decided he would also vote for her.

**Bootler** : There was practically no way of knowing the answer to this riddle. Riddles are like mysteries. One never understands them the first time they hear about them. But should they hear them again at any point of their life, they will recall the answers. Do you see where I intend to go with this reasoning? Unless Noki heard about them before, she had no way to know the answer to such hard enigmas. And what better way she had to hear about them than to be the Mole?

His little blunder during the 'Split Homework' mission made some of the others wary of him, notably Birdo and Noki, although the two friends were mostly going for Donkey and Jojora.

_(Flashback of Bootler shaking his head in shame as Birdo looks at him strangely)_

In the end, everyone went for everyone but the Mole, except for Pauline, and Donkey was executed after putting most of his answers toward Flurrie.

**EXECUTED : DONKEY**

But Bootler had also formed a coalition with Jojora and the recently-executed player, Donkey Kong, during episode two. With him were Mario, Toad and Pauline, the last one being his prime suspect. Bootler was far from delighted at the thought of executing Flurrie, but he agreed to Jojora's plan nonetheless.

**Bootler** : I assume it is better to be part of the majority group, as it will give me much more information than if I go with the three girls who are probably in a coalition. I am merely doing what I believe is best for me.

Bootler really did not want to do what Jojora wanted to do, but he had no choice as she was a power player.

**Bootler** : Whether I agree or disagree with Jojora does not matter at all, for her strategy will come to fruition anyway. Should I quit her alliance, she will still have Mario, Toad and Pauline by her side, all of them with their own motives.

_Flashback **Mario** : Who do you suggest should be the focus of attention of this episode? _

_Flashback **Jojora** : Why, isn't it obvious? Bootler._

_Flashback **Bootler** (standing up suddenly) : I am sorry but I do not wish to._

Unfortunately, the butler did not have much of a choice. Why would he refuse an exemption that was so nicely offered to him on a silver plate?

**Bootler** : If it will allow me to keep on playing, I will do it no matter the cost.

From the get-go, Bootler played for himself, always weighing the pros and cons of every decision he had to make. This time, he felt the odds would be in his favor if he were to follow Jojora's instructions.

And so he followed them.

_(Flashback of Bootler, Pauline, Toad and Mario as they perform a little act to make Flurrie believe that Bootler wanted to waste money for the team)_

However, that was not the best course of action the old Boo could have taken, and he knew it himself. Jojora did not go look for the clue herself because she wanted to add money to the team pot, but went alone to keep it to herself.

**Bootler** : It looked as though Toad was not even trying to play along. Maybe he does feel bad about what he is doing, but he cannot renounce now that he is part of our plan. He must side with us until the next episode. Or else, Jojora will probably not give him the clue. I assumed that was why she wanted to look for the clue alone and I could be right, wouldn't you think so?

When Jojora refused to show her team the clue, Bootler showed no visible sign of surprise.

_Flashback **Bootler** : Basically, Jojora does not give us the contents of the clue because she is afraid we will give information to Flurrie afterward. I assume she will give it to us right before the third execution... _

The following day, Bootler was late for the meeting, but still happened to witness the most important part of it, dissimulated behind a big rock. It was part of Bootler's strategy, to take part in no conflict whatsoever.

**Bootler** : I was not going to enter their mind games. In the end, it is the most clever, observant and focused player who will win the game. I plan to win it so I wish to avoid confrontations at all cost.

Being part of Jojora's alliance, Bootler chose the path that would later earn him an exemption along with Toad, and suggested that he should be one of the two players who liked to cause havoc, giving as a pretext a possible reverse psychology aspect to the mission. The others did not need to buy it for the majority of the players would have agreed .

_Flashback **Bootler** : Well, I personally think I should try to be a person who likes to cause havoc. Most of the time, when we are asked to choose our roles, they use some sort of reverse psychology assumption. _

Bootler chose Toad as his partner. He chose him for several reasons.

**Bootler** : Toad is my friend on this show, at the beginning of the game he wanted to team up with me, we are both suspecting Pauline and I wanted him to be my partner to cheer him up since he left the alliance. His physical prowess will surely come in handy during the challenge and I would not mind him to get an exemption, if exemptions were offered. I suppose a most logical choice would have been Pauline, since I suspect she is the Mole, but she clearly is not as fit as Toad.

Toad and Bootler won exemptions thanks to Toad's rock throw, but an exemption was not all that Bootler won. He also earned the privilege to survive a few more rounds, as one of the players he suspected the least did something drastic during the challenge. Bootler, who had been discounting Toad as the Mole suddenly looked at him again.

**Bootler** : It is obvious that I am suspicious of Toad. Even though I am grateful that he won us the exemptions, I still think that he was fishy during this whole challenge. He was not doing much, and ultimately caused the other team to lose the challenge when he threw a rock at Flurrie's car. Talking about rocks, where did he find it exactly?

Even though Bootler looked at the possibility that Toad was the Mole, he was more convinced that it was one of the girl. However, he did not take any risk and answered at least two questions for his friend Toad, which allowed him to best Birdo, the lowest scorer that night. In the end, none of that mattered because Flurrie took the bribe and went home, not to mention that Bootler could not leave the game thanks to his exemption.

**EXECUTED : FLURRIE **

Bootler was not particularly satisfied by Flurrie's departure. Even if it was one suspect off his suspect list, the old butler was more or less convinced that Flurrie was innocent by the time she had been eliminated. This allowed him to focus on one particular sketchy player, Pauline.

**Bootler** : Flurrie is gone and Pauline remains in the game. Granted, it might not mean much, however I distinctly remember having strongly gone for Pauline and Flurrie when I took my first quiz. I survived but I now have the confirmation that Flurrie was not the Mole, voiding the answers I put toward her. Which means that I survived thanks to the answers I put toward Pauline.

Even though Bootler's train of thought was remarkable, he was still wrong. One particular player was at fault for Bootler's misconception.

_Flashback **Toad** (sprawled on his bed) : Yeah, I still think Pauline could be the Mole. She is my main suspect ever since day one. Something seems off about her._

_Flashback **Bootler** (sitting on a chair) : It is true that Pauline is a sketchy character, she is also a prime suspect of mine. (Toad grins as he looks at Bootler)_

_Flashback **Toad** : Which is exactly why you're staying around her, aren't I correct? _

_Flashback **Bootler** : I cannot deny it. (Bootler is seen chuckling softly)_

Indeed, the Mole had found his ideal scapegoat. Bootler, who was not suspecting Toad much, was easily convinced that there was a high probability Pauline was the Mole.

**Bootler** : If I am not the only one suspecting Pauline, it means that others also see her sabotages. I have a feeling I am on the right track.

Pauline showed a fishy behavior throughout the fourth episode, which further led Bootler to believe that she was indeed the Mole. From the moment the players were asked to give the name of a player who had to take a break...

_Flashback **Pauline** : How about that? Since Jojora always brings negativity with her, we could make her sit out of this challenge, right? _

_Flashback **Birdo** : I like that idea! (Bootler shakes his head in disbelief)_

_Flashback **Bootler** : We need to think rationally. We cannot sit out a player simply because they are not liked. Let's hear everyone's input on that matter. If I had to sit out a weak member, it would be myself or Pauline, because she is still wearing high heels. _

...to when it was announced that Pauline had broken a rule...

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Next was Pauline, who was against Grace in a duel of fashion. Pauline won, but she already knew that. However, what she didn't know was that Birdo was offered a plus one at the beginning of the challenge. Out of Grace, Toadette, Luigi, Pianta and Chucklissa, she had to choose someone that would be greatly encouraged to speak with their opponent, fully knowing that if the opponent of the loved one she chose responded, three thousand coins would be lost. Birdo chose Grace. And you, Pauline, fell in her trap. You won two thousand coins for the team and the right to spend some time with Grace, however. _

...and even during the challenge called 'Under the Spotlight', when Pauline had shown great interest in Toad's remix.

_(flashback of Pauline making her way to Toad and asking him about tons of details)_

When Pauline asked Toad and Bootler to come with her to claim their deserved clue, both Toad and Bootler thought she was doing so to throw them off, because the producers had probably told her that the two boys were suspecting her.

**Bootler** : At this stage of the game, it has become clear that some people are working with others to discover the identity of the Mole. We are all quite sure that Noki and Birdo are in a coalition, and we think that Mario and Jojora also work together, although we are not one hundred percent sure they form a coalition, which leaves Pauline, Toad and I to fend off for ourselves. The three of us do not form a coalition, but we do not mind helping each other, knowing that one of us could very well be the Mole.

At first, Bootler wanted to vote solely for Pauline, thankfully he went back on his choice and decided to split his answers, yet another time, going with the majority on yes or no questions and selecting Pauline for questions with multiple choices.

**Bootler** : I would be mad to pick a Mole at this stage of the game. No, I must hedge my bets if I want to pursue the adventure.

Wise choice for the Boo, as his prime suspect, Pauline, left that night. Having misinterpreted the clue she had 'stolen' from Jojora, Pauline did not vote for Toad and paid the price.

**EXECUTED : PAULINE**

Thankful to be in the game in spite of his prime suspect's departure, Bootler kept on analyzing everyone's actions, starting with Noki and Birdo who were inseparable. Additionally, the ghost had some doubts about Jojora and Toad, but nothing too serious. At this point of the game, Bootler had yet to realize that the real threat was coming from the one he trusted the most : Toad. However, that was understandable. Toad claimed to have gone fully for Pauline and Bootler himself had almost done the same and was still here, so he did not question the mushroom's actions one bit.

**Bootler** : Everyone can be the Mole.

Back to square one, Bootler had little confidence. Apparently, none of the others were really suspecting him, his attempts at sabotaging deemed feeble in comparison to that of Jojora, Noki and Birdo.

**Bootler** : It is generally an ominous sign when no one suspects you as the Mole when you are a genuine player. I wonder... Is it the end for me in this game...?

Three exemptions were at stake during the episode, and Bootler was anxious. What if three players, other than him, had obtained those exemptions? There was not much hope for the old butler as opportunities after opportunities slipped between his fingers.

_(flashback of Bootler looking anxious before at the beginning of the Exemption Roulette challenge)_

Afterward, Bootler tried to relativize, it was only one exemption.

**Bootler** : Well, if the Mole obtains the exemption, we should be fine. Now that my prime suspect is gone, I suspect Birdo and Noki. Toad would be my third suspect.

Mario was the only one who could not be the Mole in Bootler's mind, so he was glad Mario would not be able to get the exemption.

The second challenge Bootler partook in did not help him that much, considering the party was split and that everyone had showed suspicious behavior. When Monty Mole made an announcement, declaring that the party would take their quiz that night, he was confident.

**Bootler** : I was as shocked as the other players when I learned the news... Or was I? Only two exemptions were available as of now, and Monty told us we would be able to earn three of them. My guess is that the episode is not over yet.

Bootler's suspicions were right, so he decided to split his quiz between four players : Birdo, Noki, Jojora and Toad. He did not know that his results would count yet it did not matter to him, because of an event that had happened recently : his coalition with Toad.

_Flashback **Toad** : Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to join forces with me, as we're the last two competitors without an alliance. I really think it would benefit us in the long run._

_Flashback __**Bootler**__ : That could be a game changing move for me and I do not know whether it would result in a good or a bad ending... What I do know, however, is that unless we become allies, our chances to make it to the last episode would be very thin. We are in an agreement, aren't we?_

Being in a coalition with Toad was what saved Bootler from getting eliminated.

**Bootler** : Toad brought new information to the table, he told me that, based on his discussions with the others, he thought the two coalitions were 'gunning' for each other. He had no definite proof, but I must trust him for my sake. To be honest, I have a small suspicion on Toad, which is why I also agreed to form an alliance with him. I also feel like, by making this deal, I am securing my place in the finale.

If the two groups were going for one another, Bootler could simply breeze through the episode, because one of them would be wrong in the end and get eliminated. However, his plans would be thwarted, as Noki obtained an exemption at the end of the 'Jewelry Robbery' mission.

**Bootler** : If only I had managed to grab an exemption, I would not be in this mess. We will take our fifth quiz in soon time, we are in the final six and I still suspect four players. This does not bode well for me at all. Both Noki and Birdo have exemptions, which means that, if one of them is the Mole, the other will not go home. If Mario and Jojora have found the Mole, they will not go home either, as they most likely did not split. Meaning that Toad and I could be competing against each other for the last remaining spot.

Driven into a corner, Bootler had no other choice but to pray for a miracle and decided that he would keep on splitting his answers. With some luck, he would best Toad.

_Flashback **Bootler** : Now that we have gone this far into the game, it would be truly devastating for any of us to be executed. I plan on making it to the next round, but I could very well meet my own demise. _

However, the worst case scenario did not happen. Toad was the Mole and nobody was really onto him, so everybody had a very low score. Everybody but Bootler, who had split his two quizzes between four of his suspects. Though Bootler was the highest scorer, Mario ended up being eliminated because of Birdo's and Noki's exemptions. The person Bootler thought could not be the Mole left the game, leaving him with four suspects.

**EXECUTED : MARIO**

**Bootler** : I was obviously disappointed when I saw that Mario left the game. Not only was he a very good team player, but I had also ruled him out as the Mole a few episodes ago. Well, there are still two more episodes before the finale, I might be able to make it to the final if I make the right moves.

Disappointed, but relieved to still be in the game. Thankfully for Bootler, he would not have to stress much more about the Mole's identify, for he discovered it during episode six. The first game of the episode was called 'Lost Castle, Lost Digits', the players had to find a total of ten numbers that they would later enter in a pad to unlock an elevator and escape through the skies. Birdo came up with the idea of splitting the groups in genders, which meant that Bootler was all alone with Toad for the duration of the challenge.

_Flashback **Birdo** : How about two groups? You guys can inspect one aisle of the castle while we take the other. (Toad and Bootler nod in agreement) _

And that's when the revelation occurred.

_Flashback **Bootler** : I am one hundred percent sure that there is something wrong with this armor. It does not seem right at all. _

_Flashback __**Toad**__ : Why are you so focused on that armor? It isn't like you to act like that. Let's go back to the challenge, we can still inspect whatever you want to inspect after this challenge's over. But for now, twenty thousand coins are waiting for us at the top of this castle._

At last, Bootler knew ; Toad was the Mole. Bootler was quite baffled to know that the Mole had been fooling him from the beginning.

**Bootler** : It took some time to sink in my head, I must say. I did not think much of it at first. I am being truthful. Nevertheless, when I finally understood what had happened in this corridor, I knew. I knew that Toad was the Mole. It was not much, only a number, but this number led me to the Mole of this game.

It was pure luck that Toad had slipped up in front of Bootler, and it was not the first time either, but it was thanks to his admirable brainpower that Bootler realized that Toad had slipped up, it was nothing short of competence.

**Bootler** : Had you asked me, this morning, who I thought the Mole was, I would have been in a pinch. If you were to ask me who was the Mole right at this moment, I would say, without any hesitation, Toad.

Bootler even voiced his suspicions in one of his confessionals.

**Bootler** : I am honestly grateful for this alliance with Toad. Without it, I cannot say that I would have reached this stage of the game. This coalition leads me closer to the end of the game...

From that point forward, Bootler tried his best to recall what Toad's actions had been throughout the game. He started right after the end of that challenge...

INFORMATION ABOUT TOAD

Toad came out of the same helicopter as Jojora.

Mixed Possessions : Toad inverted the belongings of Flurrie and Pauline, ensuring that we would not win the full sum of money. He was located in room two.

Coincidentally, his journal number is also two. His roommate was Kooper, they both occupied room Thirteen.

Treasure Hunters : Once again, he was paired up with Kooper, since they were roommates. They had to go to a pirate boat and managed to retrieve the clue. In the second part-

...and as a result, had a cold sweat during the next mission...

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Good, this challenge is called 'Another Memory'. The goal is simple : all of you will have to exchange journals for the whole episode. Additionally, you are forbidden to change anything of what had already been written by the owner of the journal, you can't deteriorate his or her journal either. You can, however, write down your own thoughts in their journal. If nobody breaks any rule by the next execution, the money will be added to your team pot._

_(Flashback of Bootler being very pale)_

**Bootler** : I was writing everything in my journal, I could not hand it over to anyone, or they would have known the clues pointing to Toad as well as all of my information...

...which led him to brutally sabotage the game, much to everyone's surprise.

_Flashback **Toad** : It matters to me too, but my journal... I'm not exactly sure of what you wrote in yours, but mine is very detailed. I've written everything I've done throughout this game, I detailed my impressions of the challenges, I ordered my suspicions and I even wrote down the clues I- (Bootler coughs)_

_Flashback **Bootler** : I do not know why you are so interested in Toad's case, but I will say that the information contained in my journal is confidential. I do not intend to let you look at it. _

**Bootler** : If my journal or Toad's were to hand in the hands of anyone else, we would be in great trouble. Toad told us that he had written everything he had done in his, so he might have written about our little expedition in Jojora's bedroom, back when Pauline was still in this game. I cannot let them know about this. Toad is _my_ Mole, I will not let them know about what he did.

_Flashback **Bootler** : As do I. And, should this exchange take place, I will only say that the Mole is not the only one who can make us lose money. _

And it worked. Since Bootler threatened to throw the challenge, Noki believed it was not necessary to even try.

**Noki** : Why would I give my journal to someone when I know I won't get anything in return?

_Flashback **Noki** : Well, apparently, it all comes down to me. So Monty, I will inform you that I don't want to give up my journal. We won't do it._

Thanks to his wits and quick thinking, the old Boo avoided a catastrophe and concealed his evidences, which was definitely a smart choice as Noki and Birdo were still oblivious at that point. In the last challenge of episode six, Bootler was not paying much attention and ended up losing money for the team. He was so lost in thought that he did not even realize that his musician was a player from the second Mole season.

**Noki** : It baffles me that Bootler never realized that his musician was a player from the previous season. There's no way he never heard of it from the so-called expert of the game, also known as Toad. These two are in a coalition, they must have talked about it at some point of the game.

But Bootler did not care about losing an opportunity, he was confident that he would make it to the next round.

_(Flashback of Bootler acting surprisingly calm in front of a nervous Toad)_

And he did. Birdo was executed, due to Noki being unable to understand her clue in time. The blue-shelled girl put more answers toward Toad than her friend, who ended up being eliminated from the show. Bootler voted for Toad and Birdo, as an insurance.

**EXECUTED : BIRDO**

The penultimate episode had finally arrived, and Bootler was more confident than ever that he would reach the final episode. However, what he did not know was that Noki was still torn between him and Toad.

**Noki** : I voted on the quiz with Toad in my mind, but... There were so many answers that were concerning both Bootler and him that I don't know if I made it because I suspected the correct Mole or because the Mole was with the player I suspected. It's so confusing...

However, Bootler did not know that, he simply assumed that Noki had realized that Toad was the Mole, which would have explained why she had survived her coalition partner.

Bootler felt so confident that, at the beginning of episode seven, he dropped a hint to the viewers, implying that Toad was the Mole.

_Flashback __**Bootler**__ : __You should not assume that victory is yours just yet. Trust my experience... You should never take things for granted, for the Mole might be playing you at this very moment._ _(Jojora rolls her eyes)_

Bootler flat-out stated that the Mole had been playing him and that he had experienced it. Later during the days, the players had to play the 'Arts Versus Craps' challenge, and Bootler was not able to be with Toad, not that it mattered to him. However, during the challenge, the ghost made a crucial mistake when he refused to listen to Noki's plea.

_Flashback **Bootler** : Well, I would be prone to trust you, however, since you already tricked someone before on this show, I am afraid that I must refuse your offer. I strongly believe that you and Toad might have been offered something which could put myself and Jojora at a disadvantage. (Noki is seen mouth agape)_

Though Bootler was genuine and did not want to jeopardize his game because of an exemption, Noki believed he wasn't truthful at all and that fact shook her confidence greatly.

**Noki** : Bootler paid no heed to my warning, which is very strange coming from a focused and dedicated player like him. I warned him, I told him to stop working on his project and even told him what the true objective of the mission was, but in the end he decided to ignore me and go on with his part of the challenge. And then he blames _me_? I did what I could, and that's about it. There was no point in arguing with him since he thought that I had lied. But in my mind, he didn't give a good excuse. I mean, two exemptions on the penultimate episode? That's not going to happen anytime soon.

**Bootler** : In this game, you have to take risks. Throughout my journey, I had to make choices, each one having its advantages and disadvantages. That was merely one of these choices I made.

Although Bootler had already understood that Mole was the Mole, he could not help but comment on his behavior.

**Bootler** : It seems that I have underestimated my coalition partner. He is obviously way smarter than he looks and it seems like his social game was perfect, while mine could definitely cost me the game. I have not socialized much throughout our journey, for the sole fact that I did not want to be involved in the many fights that have broken out. Thankfully, I have discussed with the right person.

Before the 'Antic Relics' mission, the players had to make a list. The player at the top was the one they wanted to see in the final round, while the one at the bottom was the one they wanted the least on the finale. Since Bootler could not place his own name on the list, he put Toad at the top, in case he would win an exemption.

**Bootler** : I know, to let the Mole have an important part in a challenge sounds incredibly stupid, but I had a feeling Toad would not let us down during that challenge. It turned out fine in the end as he decided to add fifteen thousand coins to our pot. And, in the case where Toad would have taken the exemption, I would have still had two in a third chances to reach the finale.

Bootler's prediction was correct, and his two opponents were not immunized. Taking his quiz as seriously as he could, Bootler was able to score a perfect ten, as opposed to the two girls who rushed and answered a question incorrectly. Because Noki was faster than Jojora, the ice fairy was evicted from the game.

**EXECUTED : JOJORA**

Bootler knew who his final opponent was : Noki. He also knew she knew how to play the game and that she had probably executed a few players herself, but Bootler also knew how he had played the game, and that was his strength. While Noki was busy trying to make herself look like the Mole, Bootler was trying to figure out who the Mole was, with the Mole in person.

**Bootler** : Noki and Toad both like each other and are friends. I am also friend with Noki. However, I have been around Toad much more than her, so I know some tidbits of information that might help me in the final quiz.

In the 'Three Questions' challenge, Bootler did his best to add money to the team pot, but both Noki and Toad wanted to sabotage the challenge, though it was for different reasons.

**Bootler** : Well, there goes our possible money.

_(Flashback of an exasperated Bootler shaking his head in annoyance as Noki tried to sabotage Toad's round in the 'Three Questions' game)_

Enjoying his last moment with his friends, Bootler took it easy in the final round.

**Bootler** : Why would I point fingers? Why would I blame someone for our failures? It is a game, nothing else. I honestly like Noki and Toad, they both had different journeys and deserved to reach the finale. We started as competitors and ended up as friends. Quite amusing if I do say so myself.

Much like Noki, Bootler saw no point in pretending to be the Mole, he worked hard to add as much money in the team pot as possible, staying loyal to his friends even when temptation arose.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : And that means that _you_, Bootler, will have the possibility to read this dossier. Being a player of high intelligence granted you that opportunity, and the addition of this single coin to your bid might have just won you the game. With a bid of twenty five thousand and one coins, Bootler, you won this price._

_Flashback **Kylie Koopa** : This item can change your game! (Kylie winks)_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Should you choose to read the book, your bid will be deduced from the team pot. It's your call, Bootler. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : I shall be honest. My bad side is telling me to open this book. However, my good side is telling me that I do not particularly need it and that it would hurt my friends if I do open it. Entering this game, I thought I would be the second one out, but here I am with a chance of winning the whole adventure. The dossier would help me achieve my goals, however... I wish to play the game fair and square, like I did from the very beginning, and for that reason, I will not take this book. _

**Bootler** : I may have looked stupid and I do not care. I felt victorious, in my own way. As soon as I gave back the Mole's dossier to Monty, it was like I had gotten rid of a burden. Resisting the temptation was a nice feeling of accomplishment to me.

During the final challenge, they were three friends, playing to end their adventure on a positive note.

_(Flashback of Bootler buying a map)_

_(Flashback of Bootler being soaked after Toad had pushed him into the water)_

_(Flashback of Bootler being snowed by the avalanche)_

In spite of Noki's last trick, Bootler stayed true to himself and took the quiz as he used to : in a slow and collected manner.

_Flashback **Bootler** : As for me, I believe that slow and steady wins the race, and I do intend to prove it once again. I have never rushed while taking questionnaires and I believe it is what allowed me to stay in the game._

Knowing more about the Mole than his competitor, Bootler beat Noki by two points, winning the game and following in Toady Dress' and Boonty Ghoste's footsteps.

**EXECUTED : NOKI**

Bootler might have won the game, but he stayed humble. He knew that his game was far from perfect.

**Bootler** : If I win the game, I will be glad. However, I shall not gloat as there were many other people deserving of the title of winner. Everyone who played the game had their own quality, I do not mean to depreciate my game, I would simply like to say that everyone did a great job.

The colorful adventure Bootler played was filled with ups and downs but most of all, it was an incredible experience for the old Boo.

**Bootler** : To think that I had never heard about the Mole before in my life and that it was all thanks to Milady that I was able to experience it to its fullest... I miss the words to express my feelings. I...cannot explain how I feel... I simply cannot.

The old butler managed to keep up with his young competition, something that seemed impossible to accomplish in his mind.

**Bootler** : I remember how much I rambled about being probably one of the first players to be eliminated because I was old. Those were good times!

Bootler did not win two hundred fifty eight thousand coins. No, what Bootler earned was much more special : connections to nine incredible players, an experience of a lifetime and the satisfaction of ending what he had started.

**Bootler** : I will never forget this game, it is something I will cherish for the remainder of my life.

Bootler was smart, collected and most of all, dedicated. The old butler never faltered to his true objective of discovering who the Mole was, he played the game with his heart as well as his brain. Bootler will be reminded for his incredible willpower which allowed him to continue the game when he was in a dire situation and claim his deserved spot as the winner.

_(A final image of Bootler's refined chuckle appears on screen)_

…

As the screen became black, the others could not help but stare at Bootler in amazement, cheering for him at the same time. Toad was clapping the loudest.

"I still can't believe you picked up such an insignificant detail!" Toad laughed as he elbowed his former coalition partner and winner of the game. "Bootler, you're really something!"

"And Bootler was smart enough to split his answers when he didn't know who the Mole was," Pauline pointed out. "I think some of us could have used his strategy a little more," she added, looking at Donkey Kong in particular.

The fighter only shrugged. "Heh, what can I say? I'm acting on impulses." Mario smiled as well.

"I also made a big mistake which cost me my stay in the game," the hero in red related. Soon, Noki, Birdo and Jojora joined in with a confirmation of their own.

"Well, this game is tricky," Jojora admitted. "If you're not confident enough, you go home. If you don't know who the Mole is, you go home. I mean, sure, you can be confident and still go home but at least you had faith in your own actions. Personally, I would find it more devastating to know that I was right but was eliminated because I didn't believe in myself."

Monty Mole perked up at this sentence. "That does sound like a good advice in this game. If I were to ask who what you want to say to the future players of this game, would it be that?"

"Yeah, definitely. Believe in yourself, be proud of your adventure and should you leave, it'll be with no regret."

"So, Flurrie, how do you feel, now that you know your prime suspect is actually the winner of this game?" Monty Mole questioned the mauve cloud spirit.

"Oh dear, I'm actually quite surprised, I believed Bootler had what it took to be a good Mole. Calm, smart, sabotaging but not too much... He was very sly and hard to read, which is why I suspected he was the Mole," recalled Flurrie. "But above all, I think it was deserved."

"I agree with you," Kooper confirmed. "I mean, Bootler was in the danger zone for the first part of the game, being 'allied' with the Mole, so I think he's pretty deserving. Nobody here was exposed to as much danger as Bootler, and he still managed to beat us all."

"Although I lost, I can't help but feel happy for Bootler. He was tricked by the Mole ever since the beginning, apparently, but he was smart enough to identify him in the end," Noki stated, giving a smile to the one who had beaten her.

"It's funny how Bootler was Toad's target in a way," Birdo joked pleasantly.

"He was not!" objected Toad. "I mean, I never had any intention of advantaging any of you, I don't want you to believe I was biased."

Bootler nodded, agreeing completely with his friend. "I never had the feeling that Toad targeted me, I simply believe he wanted to have an ally of some sort."

"Still, he asked you to be his coalition partner by two times, he could have executed you," Mario remarked. Bootler was embarrassed and Toad could not find the words to defend himself.

"Really Bootler, my intention wasn't to execute you. I guess I was attracted to your mysterious personality and wanted to know you more..."

"I know. As the Mole, you wanted to befriend the players so that they would not consider you were the traitor we were all looking for. And who would expect the Mole to make a coalition on the first day? No one would, which is probably why you suggested the idea?" Bootler summed up.

"Yeah, I really didn't want to play favorites, but you didn't seem like the type to talk much. You didn't look like the type to tell everyone what I would say so I felt safe asking for a coalition with you. And the second time, it was because Mario and Jojora were together, just like Noki and Birdo. It would have been weird for me to keep on surviving in spite of the fact that I was outnumbered and didn't have as much information as everyone else," Toad explained thoroughly.

"Furthermore, I won the game because I was in a coalition with Toad, so this alliance benefited me as well," Bootler noted.

"Why didn't you choose to ally with Pauline though? I remember you were always with Bootler and her," Donkey interrogated, glancing at the model. Monty Mole cleared his throat and became the center of attention of everyone present in the room.

"I believe now is a good time to take a look at our Mole's strategy, for it will probably answer your question, Donkey!" Turning the television on, Monty Mole went back to his seat to appreciate the footage he was going to see, with the players' company.

…

**Toad's Adventure**

**Toad** : Who's ready for yet another journey of sabotage and deceit? I am, 'cause I'm the Mole!

Toad began the game knowing that he would go all the way to the end, his enthusiasm showed at the very start of his adventure.

_Flashback **Toad** (escaping giddily from his helicopter) : Hello everyone! You're all here for the game? _

_Flashback **Toad** (talking to Kooper, Noki and Birdo about Flurrie after the first challenge) : Nobody asks you to think she is a normal player, we will just tell her that we don't hate her, then maybe we will make a few jokes, just to lighten the atmosphere, you know? _

Toad's personality is what allowed him to go unsuspected throughout a majority of the game, starting from day one. To the others, he seemed friendly, honest, straightforward and was a hard worker. None of them really saw though his mask, except for one player with keen eyes, Pauline.

**Pauline** : Toad's mistake didn't make any sense in my mind. Okay, that's indeed a red dress, but it's huge! So huge that I can't believe it's a mistake.

The Mole's strategy was to sound genuine and to be seen as a real player. In order to do so, Toad began to act carefree. He was the enthusiastic joker of the group, the one everyone could befriend easily. Around the others, Toad decided to act dumb, hiding his intelligence from them so that they would underestimate him. And it worked! Most of the competitors thought the smartest players were the most suspicious.

**Kooper** : Toad is a fun and nice guy, really. I hope we will go far, and who knows, maybe I'll ask him about a secret alliance? Just joking, it's way too early to think about that.

**Birdo** : Toad, the Mole? You've got to be kidding me, there's no way he's the Mole!

Being the Mole, Toad knew the hidden aspects of every game, as well as the solution to most problems, which helped him in his task. Additionally, Toad was chosen to be the Mole for his prior involvement in the different Mario Parties that had happened up to that point.

**Toad** : Did you know that it was my idea to host Mario Party in the first place? I guess it made sense for them to choose me as the Mole, since I _am_ the Festive Saboteur...

All these factors were what made him a great traitor. His great ability to tell lies like they were the truth and his daring side also helped him in the long run.

_Flashback **Bootler** : How did you come on this show, Toad? _

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, there was a casting in Toadtown. I know that Mario was selected as soon as he presented himself to the producers, since he's really famous. I think that I wasn't supposed to be on the show... That's speculation but... Well, I was afraid not to be on it, so I asked both Mario and princess Peach to convince the producers to let me in. (Bootler chuckles)_

_Flashback **Bootler** : And they say _I _am a worrywart. _

_Flashback **Toad** : It's just that... Well, people know who I am since I'm part of the Mario crew, right? But compared to Mario, Peach, Bowser or Luigi, I am nothing. (Toad sighs) Plus, the producers told me that they had already accepted someone which profile was almost the same as mine, that's why I wasn't feeling confident about my chances. _

**Noki** : When I learned that Toad wasn't supposed to be on the show, my suspicions of him decreased a lot. He still could be the Mole, but I highly doubt it. Especially since he told us that the producers weren't that interested in him. I know he could be lying but I really doubt it, as Mario could confirm us whether it is a lie or not.

**Toad** : Sorry to disappoint you, Noki, but it was a lie. Guess it was convincing, huh? Haha! I did ask Mario and Peach to put in a good word for me but the producers accepted as soon as I postulated for the job. If Noki had bothered to ask Mario, she could have realized that I had been lying, but she didn't. Too bad for her.

Kooper, being Toad's roommate as well as his friend, fell, victim of the Mole.

**Kooper** : Toad isn't the Mole at all, of that I'm sure.

**EXECUTED : KOOPER**

Toad met up with the producers in secret and had the opportunity to learn about the upcoming challenges. The producers would give him potential ideas to sabotage the missions, but most of the time, they were leaving everything up to the Mole.

_Flashback **Producer** : There are different challenges. One which is called 'Floral Composition' and another called 'Twenty Thousand Bucks Under the Sheep'. The group you choose is up to you._

_Flashback **Toad** : Okay, do you think you could tell me what they are about?_

_Flashback **Producer** : Sure thing, Mole. (the producers grins, like Toad) Both challenges include teamwork, I suggest going with the most dysfunctional group. Anyway, in Floral Composition, one player who thinks you have to suffer to be beautiful will run in a wooden wheel to power up a windmill. Another will act as the brains of the team, giving instructions to the last three about flowers they need to find. The second challenge involves snatching money bags from Sheep's bellies._

**Toad** : I came up with different sabotages, so no matter what my position is, I can do something to harm the team. In floral composition, if I choose to be the brains, I'll break the rules so that we'll have a penalty. If I'm the timer, I'll give up when they find two or three seeds. If I'm one of the three searchers, I'll simply hide or bury the seeds I come across. In the other game, I could struggle and not help at all, or I could take the bags with penalties or I could go for the exemption and throw money bags into the water! I've got it all covered.

Toad was also a good comedian, displaying his acting skills throughout the challenges, starting from the third one when he faked his injury.

_(Flashback of Toad tripping over nothing and faking his injury)_

_Flashback **Jojora** : Are you okay? _

_Flashback **Toad** : No... Uuugh... My ankle, it seems sprained... _

_Flashback **Jojora** : Donkey ! We need some medical assistance over here! _

_Flashback **Donkey** : Okay, I'm going to look for them! Stay here! _

In the early stages of the game, no one doubted Toad, everyone saw him as an enthusiastic and innocent player who strove to discover who the Mole was.

**Donkey** : The Mole is obviously a female, the males are trying too hard to be it.

**EXECUTED : DONKEY**

During the second episode, Jojora and Donkey had asked Toad to be part of their gigantic coalition against Flurrie. For the mushroom, it was a tough dilemma. He was reluctant to join Jojora's alliance, but refusing would make him way too suspicious.

**Toad** : I kept on wondering if it was the correct choice to make because I honestly didn't want to take part in their little 'wars', but I just couldn't counter Jojora, so I agreed. I mean, they were already four so it was better to be in the majority.

Toad was only waiting for one thing : the dismantling of the alliance.

**Toad** : When Jojora blamed me for the note, I decided to play with her. I think I did a good job at sounding genuine, because no one put in doubt my feelings, not even Pauline.

**Pauline** : If I had had a purse, I would have smacked her face with it! Oh, but don't get me wrong, I'm usually sweet and peaceful. Just not with bratty little morons like her. Who does she think she is, treating Toad and I like crap?!

Because he did not want any of the three girls to be misled, Toad chose to be loyal and honest with them, telling them everything about Jojora's plan.

_Flashback **Toad** : Actually, I'm kind of glad that you're all here. Jojora's plan was to make Flurrie think that Bootler was the Mole. I don't know if he really is a genuine player or not though. That was a pretty bold and huge gamble on Jojora's part. I told you what I knew, so good luck with that. I have no way to determine if Bootler sabotaged because he wanted an exemption or because he was following Jojora's orders or even if he did it because he is the Mole. Once again, good luck. _

_(Noki, Birdo and Flurrie look puzzled after his departure)_

This move, which would have seemed incredibly suspicious for Pauline who was tracking the Mole, did not alert the three girls whatsoever. In fact, it had the opposite effect on them, furthering their sensation that Toad could not be the Mole.

**Noki** : Toad can't possibly be the Mole. If he's the Mole, then he's going out of his way to get us on the right track and I don't believe that's the case. The Mole would have left us in the dark, only a genuine player driven by his emotions would have told us that. Well, that's what Birdo, Flurrie and I believe in any case.

Flurrie took the bribe and was eliminated, however, it was certainly for the best since she had erased Toad from her lists of suspects.

**Flurrie** : Bootler has the potential to be a dangerous Mole, however I can't say the same for Toad. The boy is way too genuine and follows his nose.

**EXECUTED : FLURRIE**

At that point of the game, only Pauline was onto Toad and the mushroom did not know how to get her off his tail.

**Toad** : Pauline has been suspecting me ever since the first challenge, or so I've been told. It scares me because she's the only one suspecting me... It's like she's a Mole radar or something.

To shake her a little bit, Toad decided to complete his part of the mission 'Challenges from Home' successfully, but it did not work.

**Pauline** : I've made a bit of research prior to this game and I've found that the Mole meets up with the producers every now and then. The producers tell them good ways to sabotage the games, but they also tell them who's onto them. To me, if Toad thinks too many people are suspecting him, it's obvious he's going to try and make us believe we're wrong by winning some challenges. Moles always do that, they win games which aren't worth a lot of money.

**Toad** : Sheesh, this girl's like a medium or something, it's as if she reads me completely!

However, the wheel of fortune turned around as Pauline trespassed in Jojora's room and looked at the clue.

**Pauline** : I can't seem to make a connection between Toad and this clue, could this mean that Toad isn't the Mole...?

Completely lost, Pauline went back to her journal and decided to change suspects.

**Pauline** : Somehow, I think that what I'm doing isn't right. If I go home tonight, it means I was right all along and should have stuck with Toad.

And unfortunately, the beautiful model had to leave the game after the fourth execution.

**EXECUTED : PAULINE**

With Pauline gone, Toad was free to act as he wanted, for no one was really suspecting him of being the Mole. In fact, Bootler was the only one who mentioned him from time to time in his confessionals and looked at him as a potential suspect.

**Bootler** : This challenge was definitely a difficult one, because it was evident, in my eyes, that nobody wanted to pass on such an opportunity. I also found Toad rather forceful. His actions during that challenge had me raise an eyebrow. Thankfully, Jojora did not push the point and let him do what he wanted.

Seeing that Bootler was the only one without an alliance, Toad decided to ask him to be partners yet another time. Bootler agreed and Toad was relieved.

**Bootler** : I have a small suspicion on Toad, which is why I also agreed to form an alliance with him. I also feel like, by making this deal, I am securing my place in the finale.

**Toad** : I know that Bootler kind of suspects me but I had no other choice but to join forces with him, lest my cover is blown up. Besides, he only suspects me a little, I don't think I've much to fear.

Toad was right, the old butler did not have much on Toad, for he believed the two had played a fairly similar game.

**Bootler** : Toad and I have been voting for the same suspect, I believe. Unfortunately, she was executed last execution. Toad and I were completely crestfallen as soon as she received that red screen... To still be here after this fiasco... I suppose Lady Luck is on our side.

In the 'Exemption Roulette' challenge, Toad was rather forceful in his actions, which led the other four to believe he was only motivated to make it further into the game.

**Mario** : Toad? Not the Mole. I've never suspected him. Besides he really wanted an exemption during this episode, and the Mole wouldn't need it, would they?

Mario could not have been more wrong.

**Toad** : I needed an exemption! Imagine for one second that three players, other than me, had received an exemption. I would have still made it to the other round because I was the Mole! And it would have been mighty suspicious because I had been telling everyone my prime suspect had been eliminated. Thankfully, only two people got an exemption and Bootler also made it somehow, and nobody suspected me for that reason – or anyone else for that matter. Kinda ironical.

In the end, since nobody voted for the Mole, Mario took the boot because of Noki's and Birdo's exemptions.

**EXECUTED : MARIO**

However, his peaceful adventure was soon to end, for Jojora had finally uncovered the meaning of the clue she had obtained during the third episode. Besides, even if she had not, only two of her suspects remained, Birdo and Toad, so Toad had little chance to make her change her mind.

**Toad** : Oh well, it's not like I could prevent that from happening. One way or another, people were bound to realize that I was the Mole. I'm just glad it was thanks to a clue and not because I was a lame Mole, though.

During the same episode, Toad slipped up in front of Bootler, saying something he should not have been aware of.

_Flashback __**Toad**__ : Why are you so focused on that armor? It isn't like you to act like that. Let's go back to the challenge, we can still inspect whatever you want to inspect after this challenge's over. But for now, twenty thousand coins are waiting for us at the top of this castle._

**Toad** : Oh my god, I was so dumb! I never realized Bootler would notice such a tiny little mistake like that, but he did! I guess I'm at fault there, it wasn't the first time I slipped up, but this time it wasn't purposefully.

Obviously, a mistake as big as this did not escape Bootler's notice.

**Bootler** : Well, Toad may have prevented me from taking that exemption, but instead he gave me valuable information. It was a blessing in disguise. Since Monty never told us how much this challenge was worth, I can safely conclude that he heard it from someone else. Someone who plans this game, for example.

However, even though Jojora and Bootler were both aware of Toad's stance in the game at that point, Birdo and Noki were not as lucky. Birdo and Toad even had a private discussion at Mario's Rainbow Castle where the mushroom told her who he suspected. The naïve dinosaur believed him.

**Birdo** : I'm often seen talking with Noki and it's normal since we're in a coalition, but I rarely speak to the others. When I talk with Jojora, we argue, Bootler is quite mysterious and I can't get a good read of him, so I just thought : "Why not try Toad? He's the friendliest around here.".

**Toad** : Birdo is pretty fickle and indecisive, you can easily sway her to your side. At one time she'll say something, then she changes suspects, then she comes back on her words, etcetera... But that's what makes her unique. Her unpredictability makes this game and our parties very interesting.

In the end, Birdo decided to vote entirely for Jojora, especially since she believed the initials on Noki's clue could mean that the Mole was female.

_Flashback **Birdo** (talking about the BTMF clue) : Right... Well, what about : 'Beware The Female Mole'?_

_Flashback **Noki** : That's interesting. But I'm not the Mole, nor are you. So that would leave Jojora. _

_Flashback **Birdo** : Unless Bootler or Toad is a female, then yes. _

The fashion designer trusted Toad more than Jojora or Bootler, so even if she had split her quiz between these two, she would have surely been eliminated.

**Birdo** : Jojora is the Mole.

**EXECUTED : BIRDO**

Entering the final four, Toad had been notified by the producers that the three remaining contestants thought he was the Mole, with Noki being a little more confused than her two other competitors.

_Flashback **Toad** : What I am supposed to do, then? If they know who I am, there's not point in confusing them anymore... Or is there?_

_Flashback **Producer** : I won't say there's a point, but being hidden is only one of the Mole's missions. Remember, a good Mole stays hidden and sabotages. Keep on playing the game as you would if no one was voting for you on quizzes._

And Toad did just that. The Mole kept on sabotaging the missions with ease, and he and his sabotages did not stand out among everything else.

**Toad** : It's funny how I'm the Mole and the others all know that I am it, yet they screw up almost as much as me!

Keeping his lively attitude, Toad even shared with his coalition partner that he knew Bootler suspected him, in a cryptic way.

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, you know how we're in a coalition and everything, right? I was wondering... What's going to happen to the two of us once we reach the final? (Bootler laughs)_

_Flashback **Bootler** : Well, first of all, I think we would need to reach the final episode, and we should not count our chickens before they hatch. Who knows, one of us could be eliminated tonight. _

_Flashback **Toad** : Nah, I think we're pretty much settled for the final episode. (Toad winks as Bootler grins)_

_Flashback __**Bootler**__ : Well, I will not turn on you, you have my word. However, it is unfathomable for __me to think that we will be working together. If anything, we will be working against each other._

**Toad** : I was simply glad Bootler didn't take it the wrong way.

In the end, Jojora took the boot, only leaving Bootler and Noki as potential contenders.

**EXECUTED : JOJORA**

It was the finale and Toad was still decided to do his job to the best of his ability.

**Toad** : What would that game be if the Mole was to stop sabotaging the moment they've been discovered? What's cool in this game is that you never know when the Mole will strike. Noki and Bootler, though they know it's me, they can't predict my every move. If they weren't listening to me at all, they would probably lose all the challenges since I'm not always lying.

And the three friends did it. Even if they utterly failed during the 'Three Questions' game, they managed to get their act together and collaborate to add money to the team pot in the next challenge.

_(Flashback of the team smiling as Bootler refused to look at the Mole's dossier)_

For the final challenge, Toad decided to do his best to help the team and finish the game on a positive note, however he was not going to do all the work.

**Toad** : Beforehand, I decided that I would only give them the final location of the game if they had managed to understand several things. First of all, they needed to have understood that the stars located in our car were giving us clues as to where we were supposed to go.

_(Flashback of Toad struggling to remove a star from the window of the car and complaining about the stench)_

**Toad** : Of course, I would act in such a way that they would sooner or later find out things. Like, for the stars in the car, I decided to bring the subject of the air freshener so that it would seem subtle.

_(Flashback of Noki taking the air freshener in her hand before stopping and realizing what it is)_

**Toad** : In exchange for my help, I had to sabotage quite a bit so that it would be fair. Yeah, me deliberately pushing Bootler and Noki in the water was one of those acts of sabotage. Oh boy, I was laughing on the inside all this time but I couldn't let it out. Noki looked as though she wanted to kill me.

_(Flashback of Noki fuming and staring intently at Toad's back as the mushroom had an uneasy look on his face)_

In the end, it was all thanks to teamwork that the three of them located Monty Mole in Mystery Land.

**Toad** : I was glad we were able to communicate together efficiently in the end even if there's a Mole in our group. Everyone screwed up during the challenge, but everyone helped too. I'm happy we were able to put the competition aside for a moment and enjoy our final challenge together.

_(Flashback of the three finalists jumping up and down as Monty Mole tells them they have succeeded in their task)_

Toad's journey was over. Being the Mole, his results on the quiz did not matter, he knew he could not win the instant he agreed to become the saboteur. He could only wait for the results, much like Noki and Bootler.

**Toad** : I'm not rooting for anybody. Bootler and Noki are my friends, and I'll be glad whatever the outcome is. They have my sincere compliments for making it this far and may the best player win!

**EXECUTED : NOKI**

Although Toad was the Mole of this game, he was above all everyone's friend. Kooper, Donkey, Flurrie, Pauline, Mario, Birdo, Jojora, Noki and Bootler, all of them, at one point or another, confessed that Toad was not only a player, but also someone they could count on.

**Toad** : It feels weird... I've been the enemy, the one everyone was gunning for, yet I've also been the friend whose company they have been enjoying throughout the game. It's paradoxical!

It may be paradoxical, but in no way it is a surprise, for Toad was a very funny Mole, an amiable character, as well as a good-hearted person.

**Toad** : I feel the reason I've been able to pull the job was because I knew that even if I was the Mole, I was not fundamentally bad. I was just doing my part, like the others were doing theirs. I don't think I would have survived to the pressure that was resting on my shoulders if I had tried to be someone else.

What made Toad's strength was his genuineness, his upbeat personality and his ability to keep a straight face when he lied. His daring deeds and brutal honesty allowed him to fool a vast majority of the players and have a relatively safe journey. But was it even a charade? No, though Toad was the conniving traitor, aiming to stir money from the pot, he was also the joking and pleasant mushroom everyone got to know and like.

**Toad** : All I can say is that I've had tons of fun! Hopefully, everyone who played this game enjoyed it as much as I did!

Toad was a very interesting Mole. While he did follow in Kylie's and Lays' footsteps as an optimistic and upbeat deceiver, his direct sabotages and his way to play the game were much more different, and for that, Toad will go down as one of the most daring Mole in history.

_(A final picture of Toad's sly grin makes its way onto the screen)_

…

Once the footage ended, the screen reverted back to black and the players gave Toad a standing ovation. The mushroom smiled humbly but he was still proud of himself. Monty Mole joined in the clapping.

"Well Toad, how is it to know that you're finally free from this burden?" the host wondered aloud.

Toad looked at him, a big smile on his face. "I feel relieved! I mean, I can finally say it out loud, I'm the Mole!" Everyone around him laughed, seeing the young inhabitant of Toadtown beam. "It's more tiring than it seems to be the Mole. Maybe not physically, but it strains your mind because you can never leave your guard down," he explained.

"Plus you lived with us for a long time, so I suppose it was becoming harder and harder for you to keep the secret," Noki guessed. Toad tilted his head a little but then nodded.

"Well, I know I would've never said I was the Mole, but I could've given myself away without even realizing that I did so. I mean, sometimes I was paranoid because I was afraid some things I've said would have given myself away. Yup, really hard," he answered.

"Like the twenty thousand coins?" Bootler teased lightly. Toad sent him a false glance of annoyance before he laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much. Only worse because I was afraid of betraying myself in front of everyone. I mean, it was already bad that I had 'told' you I was the Mole," Toad made a small gesture with his hands, mimicking the apostrophes, "but I would have been so ashamed to spill the beans in front of everyone. It was my biggest fear."

"You still did an admirable job," Pauline congratulated him.

Birdo confirmed what Pauline had just said. "Yeah, it was a little to good unfortunately... Gosh, I can't believe I was in the final five but couldn't figure you were the Mole... It's all because of Jojora!" Birdo blamed jokingly.

Jojora gave one of her famous smirks. "Hey, you were super suspicious yourself!" Mario began to laugh as well.

"Yeah, but she never realized how suspicious she was..."

"Hey! What about Donkey? He was worse than me as a contestant!" Birdo accused.

"It wasn't my fault at sucked at everything!" Donkey justified himself, prompting a laugh from everyone.

Kooper nodded his head. "Yeah, well, I'm just glad we had some insight about everyone's journey as well. I mean, I was executed first but you still know why it was so, same for Donkey, Flurrie and everyone else."

"It's The Mole, Kooper, you should know better than anyone else that when we do something, we do it completely," Monty Mole reminded him.

"I just realized something!" Toad exclaimed suddenly. "Flurrie, if you had had yet another exemption during the third episode, would you have taken the bribe?"

Flurrie rubbed her chin, looking pensive for a minute. "I think I would have, dearie... I can't really tell since it wasn't the case, but you must understand that fifty thousand coins is a lot of money, and I needed that money. Well, not I, but the Punies did." Everyone smiled at these news.

There was a brief moment of silence, when suddenly, Pauline spoke up. "Well, next are the clues I presume?"

"Not quite," Monty Mole responded calmly. "Next are the saboteur's actions! Just how did Toad sabotage most of the challenges? Some things he did were obvious while others were more discreet."

"Yes, like the dress."

"Geez, you're obsessed with that dress-thing," Kooper pointed out.

"I'm not!" Everyone began to chuckle at this, Pauline included. "Okay, well, maybe I am."

"Next, on The Mole, we'll see how Toad sabotaged the challenges! Stay tuned!" Monty Mole grinned.

* * *

_I know that it's a little too late to vote on the poll, but I received other votes so the results are now :_

_Noki : 5 - 45%_

_Bootler : 4 - 36%_

_Toad : 2 - 18%_

_Not that it really matters._

_Well, I don't have much to say, this chapter reveals yet another clue and explains Bootler's game as well as Toad. I think that it's actually fun to compare their games since they resembled each other a lot, except one was the Mole and the other was a genuine player._

_Next are Toad's sabotages. We'll discover how much he was able to keep away from the pot! I have no clue either. XD_


	37. Digging Out the Truth

37 : Digging Out the Truth 

After yet another commercial break, the players and Monty Mole had stopped talking for a moment since the cameras were shining on them again. Monty Mole stroke his chin and nodded to himself, waiting for a signal from the cameramen. Once he received it, he cleared his throat just in time and began to sum up what had occurred previously.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Mole : Festive Saboteur's aftermath! Previously, we've just discovered what were Bootler's and Toad's strategies which helped them to win the game and stay undercover respectively," the host announced with his grand voice, grinning broadly.

"I really liked them," Kooper piped up.

"Now that we know how the Mole operated, it's finally time to see what they did to keep money from entering the pot!" Monty shouted excitedly.

"There are some things that I believe were obvious," Bootler pointed out, "however, I think Toad also did some sly sabotages." The Mole had a hard time containing his laughter.

"And I guess Pauline will be happy as soon as the dress sabotage comes up," Mario joked teasingly. Pauline shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"That was what helped me pinpoint who the Mole was, so yeah... It's important to me," she explained.

"My, I'm excited! I wonder how much money Toad managed to make us lose throughout the adventure!" Flurrie asked no one in particular. "He did a splendastic job!"

"Well, time to get a close look at the Mole's actions!" Monty exclaimed, taking the remote control in his hand and playing the footage, as everyone stood still in their seat, tense but excited.

…

**The Mole's Sabotages**

As the saboteur of this game, Toad's mission was to sabotage the group's efforts and render their endeavors futile. However, being the traitor was not as easy as it seemed for Toad's second goal was to remain unsuspected throughout a major part of the game. Subtlety and discretion were his biggest assets as he sabotaged a good amount of challenges, improvising most of the time. Just how Toad was able to make his way to the finale relatively unsuspected if he did his best to keep money from entering the pot? We will answer that question very soon.

**Episode 1**

Mixed-Up Possessions

The players had to label correctly ten items with the name of their owner. If one player correctly identified three items, one thousand coins would be added to the pot. Two thousand coins would be added if six items were correctly labeled and finally, three thousand coins would be subtracted from the pot if a player was not able to find at least one item. In case of a perfect, the challenge would be won.

"Well, I didn't want to sound too suspicious in the first round, so I only switched Pauline's fan with Flurrie's red dress so that I wouldn't add the full amount of money to the pot."

_Flashback **Toad** : Let's see, which items can I choose not to look too suspicious...(Toad smiles as he sees the red dress)_

During the same challenge, Birdo had correctly identified nine of the items that were in her room, so she was not able to add money to the pot as her own item missed a tag, resulting in the loss of twelve thousand coins, after the subtraction of Flurrie's penalty.

**Donkey** : Basically Birdo could have made us won, but she screwed up. She raises very high on my suspects' list.

Truth is, Birdo did label correctly her ten items and the team should have won the twenty thousand coins, if it were not for the Mole.

"There was one hidden aspect to this game. Namely, Monty Mole was only going to take a look at what we did after we were all finished with our part. So what I did was simple, I waited for everyone to finish and then I checked they wouldn't make us win the challenge."

_(Flashback of Toad sneaking into Birdo's room after she had gone out)_

"Birdo was definitely suspicious of something, after all I believe she put the Birdo tag on her item first, but I doubt she ever realized that it was my fault. It was my first sabotage and a really fun one at that!"

Sabotage : 12 000

Total Sabotage : 12 000

Treasure Hunters

In this mission, the players had to retrieve clues by pairs which would later help them find the place where a treasure chest containing twenty thousand coins was buried.

"Obviously, failing the first part of the task would seem way too suspicious and it wouldn't allow me to truly sabotage the game, which is why I decided to do my best during the first part of the challenge. Of course, I did my best not to look too experienced..."

_Flashback **Toad** : Look, how about you try to lure them while I search for the captain's cabin? You'll have to be fast yet slow enough not to lose them. (Kooper smiles)_

_Flashback **Kooper** : Great plan! (Toad waits until Kooper is gone to look at the map of the ship which had been given to him beforehand)_

"It was so easy after that! I just had to find the captain's cabin and we'd be on our way to the beach."

There, Toad tried to act as a leader, except that as the Mole, he was leading the players to failure.

"Nobody knew what to do with so little information and nobody suggested any idea, except for Bootler, so I naturally came up with ideas of my own, to make us lose! I was really surprised, it was as if nobody cared about the challenge."

_Flashback **Toad** : You know, the first part of the challenge was timed, so we have some kind of temporal mark... You probably also know for a fact that ancient civilizations were using the Sun as a guide and were measuring the time thanks to it. _

_Flashback **Toad** : We came to the beach with our feet, so it's only logical that we have taken the shortest path. The Sun is always above us, and you always see it in front of you. So, my guess is that the treasure is hidden at the very end of the beach, let's go! _

"Yeah, my propositions were really stupid but nobody thought much of it and twenty thousand coins were gone."

Sabotage : 20 000

Total Sabotage : 32 000

**Episode 2**

Twenty Thousand Bucks Under the Sheep

This mission's goal was to retrieve bags located under the sheep which would either contain money, dares or instructions for the exemption, in the black one's case.

"At first, I wanted to go for the black sheep but it seems that Flurrie beat me to it, so I had to improvise to make them lose money."

_(Flashback of Toad tripping over nothing and faking his injury)_

"This was the perfect sabotage, because Jojora and Donkey immediately stopped running after the sheep and decided to take care of me, while Flurrie went on with her exemption business. I actually saw Flurrie leaving with our bags of money but I said nothing."

_(Flashback of Flurrie taking the money bags as Toad stares at her)_

"It was also great because we only had thirty minutes to complete our task so with my injury, they weren't able to do anything, really."

_Flashback **Toad** : Guys, forget about it and get on with the mission! We only have about four or three minutes left! _

_Flashback **Donkey** : What the heck are you saying? _

_Flashback **Toad** : I'm saying what I'm saying! We only had thirty minutes after all. But with all the drama that happened during this challenge, well... I don't want to say it, but you three kind of wasted it! _

_Flashback **Jojora** : And you couldn't have said that before? _

"All in all, a perfect sabotage. Especially since I looked like a hero in the end."

_(Flashback of Toad grabbing as much bags as he can as the sheep are stampeding toward him)_

Sabotage : 10 000 (bags not retrieved) + 3 000 (money bags Flurrie stole) = 13 000

Total Sabotage : 45 000

Split Homework

For this challenge, the players were divided in three groups. Five people for whom school brought back souvenirs, one person who liked to be the center of attention and three people who had keen eyes.

"For this game, I decided to volunteer to be someone with keen eyes, and I chose to ride the rollercoaster so that I'd have at least an excuse to use if someone was to blame me for my failure."

_Flashback **Toad** : I call the Rollercoaster! _

"I did two things to sabotage the challenge. First of all, and it was the easiest thing to do, I never 'found' all the letters I needed to give to Mario."

_Flashback **Toad** (riding the rollercoaster) : WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (As the loop comes, the mushroom closes his eyes in fright)_

_Flashback **Toad** : Mario, it's Toad. Unfortunately, I have NO idea as to what the other letters are. Seriously, I've kept my eyes peeled for the last three rides or so, but I never saw them. Sorry, it seems that you're on your own now... _

"Conveniently, the letters I needed to find could have only been seen during the loop. The second thing I did was to mislead Mario into thinking that the anagrams must have meant something, which actually wasn't the case."

_Flashback **Mario** : Wait! How will you know that you didn't already tell me some letters? _

_Flashback __**Toad**__ : __Wow... Good point, I never thought of it that way... But, it's like, impossible to find all the letters at once. I'm not even sure I will get them all. Maybe you will have to guess to find the words we need... There must be some logic behind them, you know? Well, anyway, I'm off!_

"In the end, it was with no surprise that Mario didn't get my anagram. The funniest thing about the challenge was that most of the players paid more attention to Pauline and Jojora who had added money to our pot in spite of cheating, whereas I wasn't suspected, despite failing my part. Kinda ironic..."

Sabotage : 5 000

Total Sabotage : 50 000

**Episode 3**

Clue Hunt

For this challenge, the players had to resist greed and stay before the hotel to win up to forty thousand coins.

"That was also one of the reasons why I didn't want to be part of Jojora's group. I actually wanted to go look for the clue myself or at least to lose some money, but since Jojora was the leader and wanted us to stay here, I couldn't do that."

_(Flashback of Toad pouting as he stays in front of the hotel)_

"But without me, Jojora would have never found the clue, so I guess I can take credit for this sabotage."

_Flashback **Jojora** : Now, first, we need to invent a story for Flurrie to believe. The four of you can think about it on your own. Say something like 'Bootler wanted to make us search for the clue, it was suspicious', or something along those lines. Secondly, I need help with this clue._

_Flashback **Toad** : Hey Pauline, maybe it could be the palm tree of this morning ? You know, it was suspicious. _

_Flashback **Pauline** : You said yourself that there probably wasn't anything on it, though. Did you change your mind?_

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, it was out of place and this clue mentions a 'palm', do you get it? _

_Flashback **Pauline** : Good thinking! (she smiles) Hey Jojora, Toad found where it is ! Go to Gate 1 and look for a palm tree! _

"Since Jojora found the clue, we lost a potential five thousand coins."

Sabotage : 5 000

Total Sabotage : 55 000

Feet Versus Wheels

This mission involved a race between a car and two runners. The two runners had a chance at winning an exemption at the cost of twenty thousand coins. Five other players were supposed to help the conductor of the car get to the bottom of Pagoda Peak before the runners, washing the car when it got dirty. A scratch on the car and the two players could win the exemptions.

"I really couldn't care less for exemptions, so I didn't mind being in either team, as I had thought of some sabotages anyway... Actually, I'd have preferred to be in the teamwork group, that way we would have lost as soon as the challenge began, for I would have dented the car at the very beginning of the game."

However, Bootler decided otherwise and thought the mushroom deserved an exemption.

"That really wasn't good, because I couldn't approach the car without Bootler noticing it, and he would have been suspicious of me, so I decided to play the game like a normal player. It almost worked!"

_(Flashback of Bootler and Toad being near the finish line with the car nowhere in sight)_

"Unfortunately, it seems Flurrie was able to catch up to us, so I had to resort to plan B."

_Flashback **Toad** (adventuring in a cave and picking up a rock) : They'll make good souvenirs, plus Toadette likes to collect rocks. Maybe she doesn't have this one yet. _

"I'll be truthful here. If you didn't find it suspicious that I went into a cave to retrieve a random rock for Toadette's collection that I later used to damage Flurrie's car, I'm afraid I can't save you anymore, haha! It was probably one of the most obvious things I did, if not the most."

Sabotage : 20 000

Total Sabotage : 75 000

**Episode 4**

Family Problems

During this challenge, six players had to go against one of the relatives. Winning a challenge against a relative added five thousand coins to the team pot and allowed the relative to see their loved one. However, the loved ones had been tricked into believing that if they lost against the players, they would not be able to see the player they had come to see.

"I knew from the very beginning that everyone would get to see their relative after the end of the challenge, so I was glad. But to be honest with you, I didn't want to lose this challenge especially since I had just wasted twenty thousand coins for an exemption. People might have suspected me, you know?"

So Toad decided to take another approach. Being the Mole, he knew everything about the challenges and had found a way to sabotage without actually sabotaging.

"I mean, the Mole doesn't necessarily have to sabotage themselves to lose money for the team, they can do it indirectly as well. That's how I came up with that plan."

Toad knew that before the actual challenge, the team would be asked to sit out a player for the upcoming challenge. He also knew that there was a reward at key.

_Flashback **Toad** : We can sit out a weak player, someone who we think is the Mole or someone that deserves to take a break. I think those are our choices. If it were only me, I would choose to reward someone for their hard work. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : Why would you do so? _

_Flashback **Toad** : As far as I recall, according to the researches I've made prior to the game...the only time Monty asked this question was when the players had to take dares. Humiliating dares, I mean. _

When the players had the idea to sit out a weak player, Toad kept on suggesting Mario.

"I didn't want to be forceful otherwise they would have thought I was fishy."

_Flashback **Toad** (shrugging) : Well, I don't know. I would nominate Mario, because I think it's like the challenge in season one. _

_Flashback **Noki** : To be honest, I would nominate Mario too, because I think he did not make us lose much money during the previous challenges. He deserves this break. _

_Flashback **Jojora** : Look, okay, we got it. The only thing that's bothering me, is that Mario is the most physical player of the entire show. If we need strength, I'm sorry to say that, but we're screwed if we rely on Toad and Bootler._

"Oh well, you can't always have your way, I guess..."

In the end, Toad decided to win his challenge against Luigi.

Sabotage : 0

Total Sabotage : 75 000

Under the Spotlight

The players had to create a videotape of a song that one of them would perform. The entire thing had to be done by them.

"A song, without the music to accompany it, it's pretty bland. Well that's my opinion anyway. Which is why I opted for the musical arrangement. It was the easiest way for me to sabotage."

_Flashback **Mario** : Jojora will make the videotape, Toad the remix, Birdo the song, Noki the costume, Pauline will make Birdo up and take care of the lighting, Bootler will create the decor and what will I do? _

"But first, I needed to really work on the remix. I really had fun making something great!"

_(Flashback of Noki, Birdo, Jojora and Mario smiling from ear to ear as they hear the music Toad made)_

"I also needed at least two witnesses that would definitely stand up for me if someone was pointing fingers at me, so that's why I showed Noki that I had saved my remix and explained to Pauline how it worked."

_Flashback **Noki** : Toad, could we hear what you have made so far? _

_Flashback **Toad** : Sure, why not? Let me just save it... (Toad saves his remix) There, let's play it. _

_Flashback **Pauline** (leaning forward to take a look at Toad's computer) : So, how do you do to keep track of everything like that? Must be pretty tough, huh? _

_Flashback **Toad** : Really, it's easy. Once you understand everything, of course. _

_Flashback **Pauline** : What do the dots mean? _

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, since we have many instruments in this remix, each one has a corresponding color. Like, you see the violin here? It's blue. So if you followed the blue dots, you'd have the entire score of the violin. Yellow's for the harp, red dots are for the piano, green dots are for the guitar, etcetera. _

"Once I had my witnesses, I had to create myself an alibi, so I left for around...half an hour, I guess."

_(Flashback of Toad going out of the room and asking one of the receptionists where the bathroom is, then going the opposite direction from where she pointed)_

_Flashback **Toad** : Hello Monty! (Toad waves to the host)_

_Flashback **Monty** : Oh, hello Toad! What are you doing?_

_Flashback **Toad** : Oh, you know, the usual... Sabotage. (Both the host and the Mole laugh)_

_Flashback **Monty** : Won't you have a cup of tea? (Toad nods happily)_

"Then, as soon as I came back, I saw a little group before my computer, it was just perfect! I just had to pretend to be pissed off while in fact, I was dancing on the inside. I was the one who had erased my remix but I was blaming everyone! It was just perfect!"

In the end, because the remix was unsatisfactory, the group earned a pitiful sum of money for this challenge.

_(Flashback of the sixth level standing up, meaning that the group had only won six thousand coins out of thirty thousand)_

Sabotage : 24 000

Total Sabotage : 99 000

It is to be noted that the Mole's sabotages and the Players' pot were the same at that point of the game.

**Episode 5**

Exemption Roulette

The players had to decide on a list of four players who would be eligible to win an exemption before a time limit of half an hour.

"Well... There wasn't much I could do during this challenge. I blackmailed the others so that I would be on the list, but I wasn't going to throw the challenge just like that. I would have been stupid."

Toad let the players add money to their pot.

Sabotage : 0

Total Sabotage : 99 000

Mansion Nightmare

For this mission, the players had to uncover the mystery of the mansion and reach the room where King Boo resided. For each player that made it to the end, five thousand coins were awarded. The first player to reach King Boo would then have the opportunity to either take an exemption or add money to the pot, depending on the number of survivors.

"Ugh, this challenge was such a pain! I mean, it was fun to play but it was just one of those challenge that no matter what I did, my plans were foiled. First, it was I who triggered a trap in the second room, releasing a rock which would crush anyone that dared stay in its way."

_(Flashback of Toad and Bootler advancing ahead of the girls when a distinct 'click' is heard)_

"If you were to think back to when Mario triggered the first trap and how he did it, it should have been crystal clear who was responsible for the gigantic boulder. Unless Bootler had suddenly grown a pair of legs, he would have never been able to activate the trap."

Unfortunately for Toad, Noki managed to escape the boulder. Thankfully for him, he had seen which door she had taken and decided to take the one next to it, leaving the defenseless girl alone, increasing the likeness of her elimination.

"Noki did get eliminated, but I doubt I can get credit for that... My next action was in the moles' room. Obviously it was going to be there, I mean... I was right in my territory with my brethren."

_Flashback __**Toad**__ : I say we go there one at a time! Also, we don't try anything risky. We're already down to four players, we can't afford to lose another one right now. _

"Since I was the first to go, I had the easiest time because the moles had to look out for three of us. I'm pretty sure that Birdo had an incredible stroke of luck during her attempt or else she would have been eliminated and poor Bootler couldn't do a thing, alone against all those moles..."

_Flashback **Birdo** : Sorry Toad! I kind of ran straight for the door, opened it and quickly escaped the moles. Bootler should be coming soon so- _

_Flashback **King Boo** : One of my kind collapsed under the weight of his task. Only three of you remain._

_Flashback **Birdo** : I guess he won't be coming soon then. (She smiles, embarrassed)_

"The way to go was to confuse the moles and escape at around the same time, but Birdo and Bootler couldn't know that. The last thing I tried was just before we reached King Boo."

_Flashback **Toad** : Maybe we should avoid the darts._

_Flashback **Birdo** : I'm not sure. I mean, look at the wall on your left. Don't you think it's a little too sophisticated as compared with the rest of the room? _

_Flashback **Mario** : It also looks like it goes straight to our only way out. As if it triggers something..._

_Flashback **Toad** : Does that mean that it's game over for us if we don't get shot? _

"In the end, Mario and Birdo played it safe, so we didn't lose the challenge because of me. I was disappointed, because they had avoided yet another of my sabotages. I knew I had to screw up the next one."

Sabotage : 5 000

Total Sabotage : 104 000

Jewelry Robbery

For this mission, the players had to choose who amongst them was the honestest one. After that choice, the chosen player would be isolated from the group. The goal of the mission for the five other players, was to steal Holly Koopa's emerald and get away with it, meaning that the honestest player did not think they committed the crime. If they got away with it, twenty thousand coins would be lost, but they would keep their exemption.

"It was obvious to me that Mario would get this role, he was really the best player the team had at that moment. I admit it would have been easier to sabotage if I had been the detective, but I really couldn't oppose everyone's choice."

_(Flashback of the players selecting Mario unanimously)_

"Since I wanted the game to fail, I decided that I would be suspicious but wouldn't be able to get my hands on the exemption. I knew that Mario would likely interrogate the others, so I wanted to give them the feeling that I was doing everything I could to get the exemption."

_(Flashback of Bootler, Noki and Toad eyeing each other warily in the restaurant car)_

_(Flashback of Jojora and Toad spying on each other. Jojora groans as she realizes she cannot steal Holly's emerald)_

"Once I thought the players knew I was going for the exemption, I headed toward the bathroom and stayed there the whole time. I knew it would come down to psychology in the end, and to me it appeared logical that Mario would select someone who was hiding instead of someone who was in plain sight."

_(Flashback of Toad splashing his shirt with water in the restroom)_

_Flashback **Toad** (exiting the train) : Hey guys! Sorry, I was in the bathroom but the door wouldn't bulge, so I was kind of stuck. I know it's lame, you don't need to stare at me like that... _

"I chose to hid in the bathroom also because I had been notified by one of the producers, who was on the train with us, of what Noki's and Birdo's plan was. I thought that if someone drank a lot, they would likely need to go the the bathroom which would explain why I was there. Not because I had put water on my shirt but because I needed to use the restroom."

When Mario interrogated the players, his suspicions of Toad increased.

_Flashback **Jojora** : As a matter of fact, I do. I think that Noki didn't it. Actually, she couldn't do it as she was with me in the economy class car. However... Bootler was questioning plenty of people like mad and tried to steal her jewel. Also, it seemed to me that Toad was really trying hard to get that exemption._

And when it was time for the mushroom to be interrogated, Mario was even more dubious.

_Flashback **Mario** : Hey Toad! I was wondering if you could tell me where you were during the time of the theft. _

_Flashback **Toad** : I was in the bathroom the whole time. _

_Flashback **Mario** : Wait, you spent more than twenty minutes in the bathroom? _

_Flashback **Mario** : I see... Do you have anything else to say? _

_Flashback **Toad** : I didn't steal the emerald. _

**Mario** : It would be a tough choice, but in the end, I knew that I would choose the most logical answer.

Unfortunately for Mario, this time, the most logical answer was not the correct one.

_Flashback **Mario** : My choice is Toad. I valid it. _

"Honestly, I felt bad for Mario. Half of the players had lied to him and that led to his eventual demise."

Sabotage : 20 000

Total Sabotage : 124 000

**Episode 6**

Lost Castle, Lost Digits

During this game, the players had to gather ten numbers located in the different rooms of the two aisles of Mario's Rainbow Castle. Then, the team had to enter them into a pad so that the elevator would raise and let them escape the castle.

"Beforehand, I had been told what rooms were where as well as the type of challenges they proposed. It became obvious at that point that splitting up was the way to go otherwise we would win way too easily."

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, I think we should split up to cover more ground, what do you think guys? _

_Flashback **Birdo** : I'm okay with that! How about two groups? You guys can inspect one aisle of the castle while we take the other._

"Birdo was just awesome during that challenge, telling me to inspect the aisle in which most obstacles were mental. Thanks Birdo, you really helped me out this time again! Haha!"

Leaving the girls with the physical challenges, Toad and Bootler went onward and cleared all their rooms, claiming every number they needed. Or did they?

"Bootler might have realized my slip up, but he never got my sabotage. Yet it was glaring..."

_Flashback **Toad** : Anagrams! I suck at those! Oh well, at least I see a 'of' and a 'two'. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : Yes, and the fifth one is most likely 'minus'. _

_Flashback **Toad** : Honestly, I'm glad you're here otherwise I would be stuck for a while. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : I do believe that the second word is 'exemption'._

_Flashback **Toad** : Then it means 'number of exemptions minus two'! _

"Actually, the message was 'number of offered exemptions minus two'."

_Flashback **Bootler** : I do not remember if there was any exemption obtainable during episode four. _

_Flashback **Toad** : There wasn't. And finally, there were three exemptions during episode five. Nine minus two makes seven! _

_Flashback **Bootler** : We are doing great, if I do say so myself! _

"Nah, _I_ was doing great. Because only seven exemptions had been offered, the last two being found by Pauline and Mario during episode two. The moment I said seven instead of five, the challenge was lost."

Sabotage : 20 000

Total Sabotage : 144 000

Another Memory

At the top of Mario's Rainbow Castle, the players were offered to play a game by Monty Mole, which involved exchanging journals with another player for one entire episode. Doing the game would add ten thousand coins to their pot.

"Honestly, the best way not to get the money was to not play the challenge. It wasn't hard to sabotage since I had Bootler and Noki on my side."

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, you may have an edge over us, but my clues also give me an edge over other players, so I don't want to exchange my journal with someone else._

_Flashback **Bootler** : As do I. And, should this exchange take place, I will only say that the Mole is not the only one who can make us lose money. _

_Flashback **Noki** : Well, apparently, it all comes down to me. So Monty, I will inform you that I don't want to give up my journal. We won't do it._

"And voila! That's how I kept ten thousand coins from entering the pot!"

Sabotage : 10 000

Total Sabotage : 154 000

Instrumental Search

During this challenge, the players had to look for musicians in Toadette's Conservatory, guided by clues which would make sense if they did pay attention to Toadofski's guided tour. After that, they also needed to find the instrument that was played by the musicians.

"I never intended to sabotage the mission because one, it was only five thousand coins and two, the team pot was lower than all my sabotages reunited. I guess we really sucked as a team."

Sabotage : 0

Total Sabotage : 154 000

**Episode 7**

Arts Versus Craps

The first mission of episode seven opposed two teams of two. One team would be feeling artsy and was told to make the greatest master piece they could. However, that was a trap, for the other team actually had to beat them to win the twenty thousand coins. The second part of this mission was for each team to identify which master piece had been created by the other.

"I had a lot of fun with this challenge. First, I knew it would involve reverse psychology, which was why I didn't oppose much resistance when Jojora told us she was going to be in the first group."

_Flashback **Jojora** : Nonsense. They've used so much reverse psychology to have us screw up in so many challenges that I think we should send the most artistic ones there this time. Any objection?_

_Flashback **Toad** : Not that you're likely to hear them out._

_Flashback **Jojora** : You're correct. (Toad rolls his eyes)_

_Flashback **Toad** : I'll be in the other group, then. _

"It was just perfect! The sculptor, graduated from a prestigious art school and the refined butler against the air hostess and the gardener! Noki and I had no chance to win this game, especially since I was in charge of our project. At first, I was simply going to throw the challenge and create some piece of crap until I recalled that there was a second part to the challenge. I had to give an excuse to Noki and that wasn't easy, she was definitely suspicious."

_Flashback **Toad** : I remembered something. One day, I was visiting a museum, and there were those pieces of abstract art. Basically, it was very random, but people still claimed that it was art. Maybe we should stop worrying so much and just give it a go._

**Noki** : I wasn't sure it was a good idea or not. Toad had a point, but I thought we wouldn't win with an abstract work of art. At least, it was better than nothing.

_Flashback **Toad** : Oh yes! Sorry, I was a little excited. Well, instead of doing abstract art, let's make something related to symbolism! _

_Flashback **Noki** : That's the exact opposite of what you just said, though, why the sudden change? _

_Flashback **Toad** : Because of my new idea. Look, this fishbowl is spherical, like a head. The towel is pink, like the brain – well, I think it is pink. So we put the pink towel inside the fishbowl to symbolize a head. _

"Jojora would've surely guessed that the abstract art creation was ours, that's why I decided to do something based on symbolism. It worked! She thought our work was way too good to be ours."

_Flashback **Bootler** (pointing at Noki's and Toad's creation) : How about that one? _

_Flashback **Jojora** : It's actually easy to do, but I see some sort of symbol here. And I honestly doubt that they could do that alone. In my opinion, the least sophisticated one is theirs._

Sabotage : 30 000

Total Sabotage : 184 000

Distant Memories

In this game, Monty Mole read to the players an excerpt from each of the executed players' journal which the team had to link to their owner. Four excerpts out of six needed to be correct for the team to earn money.

"I actually helped the team a lot during this challenge and I almost succeeded in my sabotage, but Jojora was smart enough to foil my plan at the last second!"

When the team could not make any more mistake, Toad pushed for an incorrect answer.

_Flashback **Toad** : How about Mario? As far as I remember, he was pretty reluctant to give someone an exemption. _

_Flashback **Toad** : Let's just go with Mario. We all seem to think that he's more likely to have written that than Birdo, so we might as well valid this answer. _

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Is Mario your answer? _

_Flashback **Jojora** : No, it's not Mario, it must be Birdo's! _

"Oh well, it's not funny when the team never wins."

Sabotage : 0

Total Sabotage : 184 000

Antic Relics

Before the beginning of the challenge, Monty Mole asked the players to fill a list on which they would put the others' name. The one at the top would be the one they wanted to see reach the finale while the one at the bottom was the one they did not want to see reach the finale. The lone player would be able to win an exemption at the price of the money the team had made during the challenge.

"The way I sabotaged the challenge was subtle. You have to think of the way the challenge ended to trace the origin of the sabotage."

Indeed, Toad did nothing out of the ordinary in the challenge itself, so how was he able to keep money away from the pot? Well, that is actually easy. Toad was brought to Horror Land by car, before the others even began the challenge.

"Once there, I was given a flashlight and an envelope. And what I did was so natural that I'm not even sure the viewers got the sabotage."

_(Flashback of Toad switching on the flashlight as soon as the car leaves)_

"Yup, a basic and subtle sabotage! Because I wasted so much energy before the game started, I was able to make us stop the challenge sooner than expected, and I was only able to retrieve three items out of five."

Sabotage : 10 000

Total Sabotage : 194 000

**Episode 8**

Three Questions Game

At Grand Canal, the players were sequestered one after another while the other two had to answer questions the way they thought the sequestered person would answer them.

"I really liked the Three Questions game, I had tons of opportunities to sabotage! During Bootler's round, Noki apparently didn't want to choose her own name for some questions and I just knew Bootler had answered her."

_Flashback **Noki** : But Toad, there's no way we're going to find a logical way to answer a question like that. Besides, what would be his logic? Actually, what do you think is his answer? (she narrows her eyes as Toad begins to sweat)_

_Flashback **Noki** : I see your point, and it's true that I have no one...yet. Additionally, some women are known as frivolous, but... Speaking of generalities, women take their time to approach someone. When I was younger, I had male friends - I still do - who were basically bragging about their conquests... _

_Flashback **Toad** : Well, I see your point. I suppose one night stands are more common for men than for women... I mean, we both presented good points, and it's just a name after all, it doesn't mean that we're like that in any case. Those questions are definitely stupid anyway. This whole game is stupid, come to think of it. Let's just choose a name and be done with it. If you don't want to say Noki, let's just say Toad. There's no good answer. _

"Nuh-uh, there was a good answer and it was Noki. At this point I didn't care, I was just glad we lost some money. Then, it was Noki's round... For the first question, I wanted to answer Bootler because there was just no way she did answer that... But she actually did, which made me laugh because I wanted to sabotage, Bootler didn't and in the end my answer was correct and Bootler's was wrong!"

_Flashback **Noki** : As I was saying, I first went with Toad, but then I remembered that Toad and I were previously answering our questions in a sensible way. Or at least, we tried. So I changed my answer to Bootler. _

_Flashback **Bootler** : But why? Your first answer was perfectly sensible. _

"And during the third round, I just gave an unbelievable answer that no one would have thought of."

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : The next question was : 'If you committed a crime, had a thirty year sentence and had the possibility to pin the blame on someone between Bootler and Noki, who would you choose'? Toad, who did you choose for this one? _

_Flashback **Toad** : That was a horrible question, I didn't know who to choose and I almost chose at random, but then I thought we'd lose so that would be even worse. I picked Noki, sorry. (Noki and Bootler stare at Toad in shock)_

Sabotage : 20 000

Total Sabotage : 214 000

Final Temptation

For this challenge, the players had to find a book which would lead them to another book which in turn would give them a clue, the cycle repeating until the players found the last clue telling them to find the 'Mole'. Once the players had located Kylie, they won the money.

"There wasn't much you could do to sabotage the challenge, except stalling for time."

_(Flashback of Toad talking and confusing the players about the location of _Tales of an Ace_ while it is in front of his nose the whole time)_

_(Flashback of Toad suggesting they should put The Shroob Threat back to where it belongs even though it does not do a thing)_

Thanks to Toad's quick thinking, the players lost valuable time during several occasions and barely missed out on the full reward of the game.

Sabotage : 5 000

Total Sabotage : 219 000

Last Journey

For this last challenge, the players had to find Monty Mole at an unknown location with six stars in hand. They had to discover the meaning of several obscure clues to win their challenge.

"Well, I really wanted to win for the team, but the day before Kylie Koopa had told me that I should do my job in spite of this challenge being the last. So I sabotaged – a lot actually – but thankfully we were able to win it."

When Monty Mole abandoned the players, they were all looking for the keys to the vehicle. The Mole, however, knew that the keys were inside the car and that it was unlocked.

"While Noki and Bootler were busy looking at the grass, I actually put a lot of little stars into my pockets. The ones with clues on it, I mean. Neither Noki nor Bootler ever found out about this thanks to another crafty sabotage I did later on."

_(Flashback of Toad putting some clues into his pocket and calling for Bootler and Noki right after that)_

"The next sabotage was probably when I pushed Bootler and Noki into the water, during Mushroom Mix-Up. And right after that, I fell myself into the water."

_(Flashback of Noki yelling angrily at Toad as she swims toward the boat)_

_(Flashback of Toad pushing Bootler aside in panic, making the both of them tumble into the water below)_

"After that... Hmm... I think I said something about the number of clues there was in the car... Ah yes, now I remember! I lied about the number of clues there was in the car and hid some more in my pockets."

_Flashback **Toad** : Guys, I found the last one! I think we have the complete set! _

"There were actually sixteen clues. If Noki and Bootler had paid attention to our surroundings, they would have seen that there was yet another thumbprint from the Mole, meaning that another star was available there. But since I dissimulated that fact, I guess it was impossible for them to realize it."

_(Flashback of the crew looking dumbfounded as the team drives back to Pipetown)_

"My next sabotage was pretty cool too! I punctured a tire just as we arrived at our destination at Bowser's Nightmare. I think I did a great job because no one, not even Bootler or Noki realized that Noki's reckless driving wasn't the reason why we had a flat. I mean, she was driving on the right side of the road, and the flat tire we got was on the left side of our car so obviously that was the work of the Mole."

_Flashback **Bootler** : You might want to be more careful though, for I think there are spikes protruding from the security rails. I would definitely not want our car to be damaged because of those._

_Flashback **Noki** : Yes, but I have to drive on the right side of the road. If another car comes toward us fast while I'm driving in the middle of the road... I don't want to imagine what would happen, then._

_(Flashback of the Mr Blizzard policeman showing to the team that the flat tire is on the rear and on the left of the vehicle)_

"Obviously, it was the one closest to where I was sitting in the car."

_(Flashback of Toad sitting behind Noki, the conductor, at various moments during the last challenge)_

"Oh, and when I decided to stay behind, I did not only fix the car. See for yourselves..."

_(Flashback of Toad selecting which stars the team is going to go after)_

_Flashback **Toad** (whistling) : No, not this one... Yes, this one is hard enough!_

_(Flashback of Toad running to the pond and dumping the contents of his bag into the water)_

_(Flashback of Toad winking mischievously)_

"That was truly an awesome challenge and I'm glad we won it! Noki and Bootler deserved it, after putting up with me for this whole challenge!"

Sabotage : 0

Total Sabotage : 219 000

Ultimately, Toad was able to keep away two hundred nineteen thousand coins from the team pot, that is, a little less than the money the players made throughout the journey. Sabotaging around two fifth of the total money the players could have won, Toad proved to be the ultimate traitor, keeping his identity hidden and preventing the team from earning too much. But in the end and above all, Toad will be reminded for his joyous personality which made him the perfect deceiver to have aboard.

Because of his incredible job, the Mole will be rewarded with the money he lost throughout his journey.

…

"WHAT?!" Toad exclaimed as soon as the screen faded back to black. "But I thought the Mole was never given money!"

"Well, we always cut that part off the final editing, if you must know, and that's one of the secrets the Mole and the players must keep to themselves," Monty Mole explained slyly.

The room erupted in cheers as soon as it was confirmed that Toad would get the money he deserved.

"Good job Toad, you did a fantastic job!" Birdo hugged him.

"I never knew you did so much during our final challenge!" Bootler exclaimed in a rare moment of excitement.

"I still remember how he pushed us off the mushrooms, though," Noki smiled as Toad rubbed the back of his head, chuckling.

"You were so sly in this video!" Flurrie yelled animatedly.

"Oh my god, you did so much and we still couldn't pinpoint you were the Mole!" Donkey put the palm of his hand onto his forehead, shaking his head in shame.

"I think you did better than Lays or Kylie!" Mario congratulated him.

"Nah, I just think we played differently, that's all. I wasn't always subtle."

Pauline raised an eyebrow. "But then again, some of their sabotages weren't subtle at all. Though I agree your game plans were different."

Monty Mole cleared his throat, captivating the players' attention. "You really thought we would forget about our runner-up? Noki, come get your reward," Monty Mole demanded, an envelope in his hands.

"Oh my god! It's an all expense paid vacation to the Mushroom Kingdom for two!" Noki shouted, putting her hand over her mouth. "Thank you so much!" she added, sniffling. Monty Mole chuckled lightly as the others clapped for her.

"We had to change a few things since we imagined you didn't really want a vacation to Isle Delfino."

"I think you were correct Monty," Kooper grinned. The players regained their calm and faced Monty Mole.

"And that almost concludes our finale."

Jojora smirked. "What about the hidden clues? Are there in the palm of Toad's hand?" Everyone laughed at the reference, Monty included.

"Coming next, in The Mole, all the hidden clues leading to Toad are revealed! Stay tuned and don't miss the next part of this grand revealing!"

* * *

_Fastest update ever (by me at least). XD_

_I actually had the chapter finished on the same day as the previous one. Guess I was motivated._

_Well, hope you're enjoying this finale ! _

_Until next time !_


	38. The Curtains Fall

**Shilo** : Yes, I know Birdo didn't react strongly, and I think I wrote in one of her confessional something like : 'Let me tell you that I did put a tag to my perfume, so I know I'm at an advantage' or something along these lines, but I wasn't able to find it in the story, so I assume I didn't include it in the end... Plus I honestly didn't want to reread the story yet another time just for one line. But, I'm almost sure Birdo did find her item first so there was no way she had forgotten to label it. XD I'm glad you liked most of the challenges (I agree, Mansion Nightmare was fun). I like to give them a little something which will differenciate them from basic challenges. Thanks for your review, by the way.

**Cyan Comet** : I'm glad you liked the chapter ! Thanks for your review and here are the clues you were looking forward to discover ! XD The last page's mystery is also explained there !

* * *

38 : The Curtains Fall

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back for the last part of this finale!" Monty Mole greeted in his usual charming voice.

The host and the players were all seated in the hotel lobby, calmly waiting for the rest of the event to unfold. All of them were particularly satisfied of the way the game turned out to be and they were dying to know what were the hidden clues leading to the Mole's identity.

"So earlier we uncovered the Mole's hidden acts of sabotage and discovered that Toad had kept out approximately two fifth of the total grand prize. Bootler, how do you feel after this revealing?"

"Well, I suppose I should be angry or resent the fact that he sabotaged so much since it diminished the amount of money I won, however that is not the case. If anything, I am proud of him, he did a splendid job!" Bootler congratulated the Mole.

"How about you, Birdo? Did you ever realized that Toad was the one behind the missing tag during the first challenge?"

Birdo let out a small giggle. "Not at all! I would have never guessed it happened that way. I even think that toward the end of my game, I just assumed that I had forgotten to put it on my perfume."

Jojora nodded. "I think Toad's greatest asset was that he knew how to blend in the crowd. We were all suspicious in our own ways, and we all sabotaged at one point of the game, but Toad's strength was that he took advantage of our sabotages to make us lose more money."

"So, next up are the clues, right?" Pauline inquired. "I'm pretty excited for that part!"

"Me too! I can't wait to see how many I missed," Noki chirped.

"Monty dear, let the show begin!" Flurrie encouraged him to start the video. Monty Mole chuckled and complied.

"Well, if I must..." The screen flicked on and everyone watched in delight as the video played.

…

**The Hidden Clues**

Throughout the adventure, all kind of subtle clues were disseminated, each of them pointing at Toad being the Mole. Though most of them were hidden carefully, others were in plain sight, waiting for you to find them. How many did you get?

The Festive Saboteur

Toad being the Mole, the game being hosted in different Mario Party Worlds, the link was more or less obvious. In Mario Party (1), Toad is the one who suggested to Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong that they should enter the Mushroom Village's Warp Pipe, in order to determine who was the Superstar. Without Toad's suggestion, there would have been no party at all. Because Toad is the one who introduced the Mario Parties, the adjective 'festive' qualifies him, determining him as the saboteur of the game : the Mole.

Toad's Last name

Toad's last name is very interesting indeed. It is not a random name but an actual word in French. 'L'Amanite Phalloïde' is a poisonous mushroom, which, in English, can be translated as a Death Cap Amanita. A fitting name for the Mole who executes players one after another...

**Episode 1**

Chapter One : The Colorful Helicopters

Five helicopters landed before the entrance of Pipetown. Each helicopter was painted in a different color, there was a pink one, a red one, a blue one, a green one and a yellow one. In the Mole, the dominant color of the logo is the green one. It is also the color of the exemption cards, and the color of the screen when a player survives a questionnaire. Basically, it is the color of the Mole. Jojora and Toad came out of the green helicopter, pointing at them being the Mole.

Chapter Three : Strange Line

When Monty Mole wishes to tell the players that they will have to wear costumes during most of the challenges, this happens :

"Now, let me explain you a few things," told them the Mole.

As you may have seen it, the initial of the word "mole", is capitalized. It has a double meaning, because Monty Mole indeed is a Mole and really is saying that sentence, but it can be linked to Toad, who was himself the host of Mario Party 2, who was explaining how it worked and giving the rules to the players.

Chapter Three : Instructive Instructions

_'Your goal is to retrieve the clue from the cavern's walls. Be careful though, shining rocks reflecting light Shroob's color skin might deceive you more than they will help you. Their goal is to sabotage your hard work, so avoid them as much as you can'_

The explanation of the light purple stones' job was very similar to the Mole's one. A clue to the Mole's identity was residing here, with the word "Shroob". Shroob are a mushroom alien species which tried to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom (Mario & Luigi : Partners in Time). Additionally, in chapter 2, Toad explained to Kooper that he was a Shroob during a particular game.

"Wouldn't it be the Shroob Threat? Because there was a girl named Bombette. She was playing low on the first days, but in the end, she waited for Gardevoir to reveal herself so they would eliminate my close ally, Peach, a Shroob. Then during the night I eliminated her, because she was the Neutral, or the Amanita as they call it in this game but Gardevoir also found me out because I sided with Peach. That was really well-played on her part!" recalled Toad.

Saying that his close ally, Peach, was a Shroob also meant that Toad was one. It also meant that his job was to sabotage the team's hard work.

**Episode 2**

Chapter Five : Message on the Wall

'THE MOLE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU'. This message was supposedly left by the Mole on a wall Toad faced during the third morning of the players' adventure. However, in front of Toad was a wall, nothing else than that. This message was not addressed to any of the players, it was actually addressed to the viewers. Toad was in front of them.

Chapter Six : The Mole Knows It All

"Ah yes! Well, you sure couldn't find the Bub-Bulb seeds without her since she was giving you clues about the areas where they should have been, that's for sure. Thank goodness Birdo never left the wheel, though. But wouldn't that mean that Mario is suspicious? I mean he found an exemption yet he failed to find seeds?"

What Toad said was really interesting... It was also a big slip-up, because Monty Mole never described the Floral Composition mission and its goal in front of him at any point during the game. Soooo... How did he know?

Chapter Seven : Youtube Knowledge

"Yeah, maybe," shrugged Toad. "Anyway, I would like him to get here soon, because it's slightly boring around here." A familiar voice answered his request.

"Then, why wouldn't you try to be snooping as usual?" chuckled the host, surprising most of the players.

Toad's line is based on what Link says in most of them ('Gee, it sure is boring around here !') while Monty Mole's is based on what Robotnik says to Sonic (the funny part being snooPING AS usual, for obvious reasons if you have already seen this kind of videos.). It could be giving a nod to those videos only, yes. But when you use snoop around, you give off an idea of stealthiness, an adjective which can describe how the Mole sabotages and it was also a reference to Toad's first sabotage.

**Episode 3**

Chapter Nine : Suspicious Choice of Words

**Toad** : It kind of bugs me to see that people are being so strategic about the game and throw challenges because they want someone out. I mean, what's the point of the Mole if everyone blatantly sabotages and admits it? Also, I don't think it's fair to Flurrie...

Well, well, well... Is Toad upset about the way they treat Flurrie, or is he upset about his impersonators, who kind of steal his show?

Chapter Nine : The Gates' Numbers

In this chapter, the players compete in order to win a clue leading to the Mole's identity. The clue in itself is not that important, but its location is. The clue is situated under a palm tree, the palm tree from Gate Six, to be more precise. If you look carefully, all of the numbers in this chapter are written in letters. The only ones which are not are the ones of two Gates (number 1 and 6) which, strangely enough, are located near the only two palm trees of Pipetown. The clue given by Monty Mole to the players said that the clue to the Mole's identity was located in the Mole's palm. And that meant that the palm trees were connected to the Mole, since they were holding his identity and secret. If you were to connect the dots, you would know that the numbers 1 and 6 were crucial. And they were, since they were giving the Mole's birthday (June 1st – 06 / 01).

Chapter Eleven : Third Gate

8 – 6 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 7 – 6

If you were to look at your cellphones, you could translate this code into letters. 8=T, 6=O, 2=A, 3=D, 4=I, 7=S and 6=M. 'Toad is M', or 'Toad is Mole'.

**Episode 4**

Chapter Twelve : The Mole's Door

When the players decide to look for Monty Mole, they decide to go to his room. On the door of this very room, the inscription 'Mole' is written. It could simply mean that the room is the host's. But it could also be a clue to the true Mole's identity. The room's number is 106. Toad was born on June, the first. Toad is the Mole.

Chapter Thirteen : Strange Alphabetical Order

When the players were asked, along with their relatives, to answer some questions, they all answered alphabetically. Except for Toad. Situated between Mario and Noki, his location would be a perfect fit if he were to be called 'Mole'.

Chapter Thirteen : The Clue given to Jojora finally revealed

_Although I am somewhat doing things upside down it does not mean that I do not have my head on my shoulders. I know perfectly what I am doing for I am the Mole, the worst traitor you have ever seen in your entire life. Beware, looks can be deceiving..._

That was the clue that was given to Jojora during episode three. The reason why it was revealed in episode four was because it would have probably made things a little too obvious. Two things point at the Mole. The first one being the line "_Although I am somewhat doing things upside down_" which pointed to Toad's role in the fourth mission. He was the one riding in the Rollercoaster and thus had to do his part of the mission upside down, when came the looping.

The second one was less obvious. It was this part : " _it does not mean that I do not have my head on my shoulders_", which wasn't a figure of style but was a line which pointed to the Mole's anatomy. Toad does not have a neck, so his head directly rests on his shoulders. This point was later addressed in the story when, in chapter seventeen, Birdo joked about one of Toad's comments.

"I don't know," confessed Toad. "I mean, you can't tell whether they used reverse psychology and hid it near the door or not. We better get a move on though, the water's reaching my shoulders!"

"Funny, I thought you didn't have shoulders," laughed Birdo.

Toad groaned. "Well, you can't really see them, but I do have shoulders. I don't have a neck, though..."

Chapter Fourteen : Introduction Sentence

"The sun was shining brightly that morning, as though it had secretly known about the players' next assignment and wanted to show them that it was more knowledgeable than them. Or was it? One of the players obviously knew as well. That person was the Mole... A faker... The rival of the Sun, in some sort of way."

Indeed, there was a clue pointing to the Mole's identity, but one could have interpreted it differently from what the producers had imagined. However, the true meaning of this phrase was the following : Toad is the rival of Brighton, in some sort of ways, since they both host Mario Parties.

Chapter Fifteen : Questions with No Comment

Nobody ever comments on the last question which always asks the players who they think the Mole is, but this time around, two peculiar questions were left out : the first one and the sixth one. It was a reference to Toad's birthday : First of June. If you look closely, you could have seen that something was strange, because Birdo's comment was placed under the wrong question. Coincidentally, Pauline's comment was also placed under the wrong question.

Chapter Fifteen : The Mole's Theme

This clue was actually hidden throughout chapter fifteen. It appears at the end of the chapter, but its meaning can only be understood thanks to an element presented at the very beginning of the same chapter.

'Arriving on the roof, the players heard the sound of a piano, which was playing the Mole's theme. It produced a strange music and the players could not help but notice this change.

"Well, that's a nice change, music always eases one's emotions," noted Noki, smiling.

"Mmmh, that sounds like polka," pointed out Mario. Jojora scoffed.

"Bah, I don't like it."'

As you can see, when the mole, the mammal, is referred to, it does not take a capital. When the Mole, the saboteur, is referred to, there is a capital on the word 'Mole'. And when The Mole, the gameshow, is referred to, both words take a capital (at least, in that chapter).

What you had to understand in this extract was that a music associated to the Mole was being played. Another element leading to the Mole's identity was the instrument that played the music. It was a piano. And, at the beginning of the chapter, the piano was mentioned :

'Pauline frowned. "What do the dots mean?" She pointed at various spots on the computer.

Toad scratched the back of his head. "Well, since we have many instruments in this remix, each one has a corresponding color. Like, you see the violin here? It's blue. So if you followed the blue dots, you'd have the entire score of the violin. Yellow's for the harp, red dots are for the piano, green dots are for the guitar, etcetera."'

As you can see, red dots are for the piano. Well, we are almost at the end of the explanation. Now, if you look at what was written before, Mario noticed that the music that was playing was polka. Isn't Toad a red polka-dotted mushroom? Yes, that was indeed another very difficult clue, but it would not be funny if they were obvious.

**Episode 5**

Chapter Sixteen : The Mole Knows it All 2

Quite reminiscent of the clue hidden in the second chapter of episode two, this one was another slip of the tongue that Toad made.

"God, why can't we have some light? How are we supposed to make it through this maze without light?" asked an unnerved Toad.

It is later revealed that King Boo's Mansion is a big maze, but at this point of the game, a regular player could not have known it.

Chapter Seventeen : Chapter's Name

The title of this chapter is : "Another One, Taken by Surprise.". It strangely resembles a name that could be given to an execution chapter since nobody knows for sure who the Mole is and that they might fall short during an execution, thus being taken by surprise. Yet, there is no execution during this chapter. It merely is a fake organized by Monty Mole. However, if you were to look back at this chapter's name after the fifth execution, which would be Mario's, you could have been able to find something interesting.

'"Surprise, surprise!" Toad exclaimed as he took Mario's arm. "You heroes really aren't careful... You've been shot by a tranquilizer."'

Here, the Mole is the one who takes Mario by surprise (literally), as they did during the execution of that episode.

Chapter Eighteen : Title of Monty's Book

The Pennington Miles... While it does not seem particularly strange and could be seen as a cheap attempt at advertising another story (look for the account Cascore-Wimpzilla in my favorites), it actually contains a simple clue. Look at the mistake in the title. The initial of the final word is a 'M', instead of a 'F'. It was done so all three initials could be used to spell **T**oad **P**halloïde **M**ole.

Chapter Nineteen : Toad's strange remark

"Still, it's only a game," retorted Toad. "Also, I like her ten times better as the Mole than you as a player, assuming you are a player and her the Mole." Jojora scoffed.

"It's only a game? I doubt you'd say that in front of the final quiz, when you are a few questions away from winning that whole game, as well as the money which comes with victory. Do I need to remind you that more than one hundred coins is at stake?"

"Well, it won't make a difference. At least to me. I've come here for the experience," told her Toad.

Indeed, in front of the final quiz, it will not make a difference for the Mole, as they know they will not be able to win the money. Which is exactly why Toad replied that way to Jojora.

**Episode 6**

Chapter Twenty One : The Mole Knows it All 3

"Why are you so focused on that armor? It isn't like you to act like that. Let's go back to the challenge, we can still inspect whatever you want to inspect after this challenge's over. But for now, twenty thousand coins are waiting for us at the top of this castle," retorted the gardener. Bootler complied and followed him.

Monty Mole never specified the worth of the challenge. Additionally, earlier in the chapter, Bootler mentions that the Mole is bound to slip up one time or another, which is exactly what happened here and led the Boo to victory.

Chapter Twenty One : Interesting Opponents

When Birdo, Jojora and Noki challenged football players to clear their last mini-mission, they were up against three other females. The Toad was called Toodia, the Boo Booenissima and the Monty Mole was called Girolle, a curious name for a Monty Mole. If you were to translate her name from French to English, you would know that Girolle is the name of the Chanterelle mushroom. So why would a Monty Mole be named after a mushroom? It does not make much sense, unless we were to link the fact that her name and her species were giving us the identity of the Mole.

Chapter Twenty Two : Hidden Clue From The Mole

_Mole, the very individual that you have tried to catch for so long, it must be hard to actually play the game, so I will give you a clue : BTMF... Until we reach the end of the game, that is, but by then, you will probably be aware of who I am. So yes, you can choose to acknowledge my words. Hello to whomever you might be. Reorder this clue, and its meaning will become clear to you. Or you can dismiss them, do as you wish. Oh, before I forget, I'm the Mole. My name will remain a secret, as I do not want to spoil your game._

The clue leading to the Mole's identity found by Noki told its possessor to reorder the sentence around. The message, reordered, was :

_Hello to whomever you might be. Oh, before I forget, I'm the Mole. So yes, you can choose to acknowledge my words. Or you can dismiss them, do as you wish. Mole, the very individual that you have tried to catch for so long, it must be hard to actually play the game, so I will give you a clue : BTMF... My name will remain a secret, as I do not want to spoil your game. Until we reach the end of the game, that is, but by then, you will probably be aware of who I am. Reorder this clue, and its meaning will become clear to you._

As you can see, no message appeared and its meaning is still foggy. The Mole did a clever thing when he created the clue, he encouraged the receiver to 'hide' its meaning. Indeed, the message was here from the beginning. If you were to take a look at the first letter of each sentence, you would find the following string : M-U-S-H-R-O-O-M.

The obvious clue given by the Mole in the message, BTMF, is a reference to a soundtrack of Super Mario RPG : Beware The Forest's Mushrooms, except that the last two letters were not in the right order. Hence why the Mole asked you to reorder the clue.

Fun Fact : The clue could also have been interpreted as a red herring. 'B' for Bootler, 'T' for Toad, 'M' for Mole and 'F' for Final. Bootler, Toad and Noki were the final three, so you could have thought that this clue led to Noki.

**Episode 7**

Chapter Twenty Four : Introduction of the Players

"It's kind of lonely without Birdo," remarked Toad, eating a grapefruit. The players were once again reunited around the table of the dining room.

_The Mole, could they be parading as the happy-go-lucky yet forgetful mushroom, known as Toad?_

"Don't remind me," replied Noki absent-mindedly, picking at her food. "I wish she were still on the show."

_Or would they rather use the disguise of the shy, weak and intelligent inhabitant of Delfino Island, known as Noki?_

"Told you it wouldn't be me," shrugged Jojora. She looked at her competition, all the while grinning slightly.

_And how about the harsh and arrogant, yet clever blue fairy, known as Jojora? Surely, she could get the job done._

Bootler remained as calm as ever. "You should not assume that victory is yours just yet. Trust my experience..." When Bootler noticed the confused expression of Jojora, he developed. "You should never take things for granted, for the Mole might be playing you at this very moment." Jojora rolled her eyes.

_Dedicated, focused and mysterious, such are the qualities of the old ghost, known as Bootler. Would he be uncovered as the Mole?_

If you were to look at the beginning letter of each of the italicized statements, you would have been able to find out the identity of the Mole : T-O-A-D.

Chapter Twenty Four : The Mole Knows it All 4

"Yes you have, but for now I only need Jojora and Bootler. You won't play in the same mission," told them their host. Jojora and Bootler followed the host, leaving Noki and Toad by themselves.

"Weird."

"I also find it strange that we don't get to accompany them or even hear what they will be doing," voiced Noki. "I mean, our challenge also conveniently takes place in Koopa's Tycoon Town, so I don't really understand why we should be waiting here."

Toad sat down on the pavement. "I think..." He stopped for a moment, looking at the sky.

"Yes?" encouraged him Noki, patiently.

"I think we should be extremely careful during our own part of the mission. I'm pretty sure Monty will purposely omit some details when he gives us the rules and everything we need in order to win."

While Monty Mole states that the two groups composed of Jojora and Bootler in one hand, and Toad and Noki in the other hand, will partake in two different challenges and that Noki uses the words 'our challenge', Toad clearly implies that there is only one challenge with the line 'our own part of the mission'. He would not have known that, had he been a normal player.

Chapter Twenty Seven : Special Items

The items Toad needed to bring at Mystery Mansion were giving the identity of the Mole. Indeed, the Music Box, the Magical Flute and the Frog were all references to items that appeared in Super Mario Bros 3 (the first two having the same names while the last one was the Frog Costume). In the game, Toad was the one who was giving Mario (or Luigi) the possibility to look inside one of his treasure chests to acquire an item at the end of each level. Additionally, the Magical Flute was a special artifact, existing in only three exemplars, thus leading to his identity as the Mole.

Chapter Twenty Seven : Precious Items

Toad was rushing toward Mystery Mansion, holding the most valuable items of the game.

The reason why this line is not "Toad was rushing toward Mystery Mansion, holding the most valuable items of this game/challenge/mission" is because that sentence in itself was a clue.

In the Mole, the most valuable items are exemptions, plus one and the Mole's dossier. Why use this sentence to qualify items of no apparent value to the game called The Mole then? Because they were giving the identity of the Mole, that is why.

Chapter Twenty Seven : Execution Vehicle

When Monty Mole accompanies Jojora to the vehicle which will help her return home, this happens :

'From afar, the host and the ice fairy could see the deep blue car that Toad had used to reach Horror Land. Jojora frowned.

"I kind of hoped I'd ride in something a little more...exciting, oh well."'

As you saw, the execution vehicle was previously used by none other than the Mole. Also, when Jojora caught sight of the vehicle, she frowned. Not because she was disappointed, but because she realized that it was a clue, explaining why she later wrote in her journal.

'She buckled her seat-belt and grabbed her journal, scribbling down her final thoughts.'

**Episode 8**

Chapter Twenty Eight : Specific Order

Have you ever noticed that, when Monty Mole or the off voice explains what the last three players will be – The victor, the loser and the Mole – a specific order is always respected? Have you ever noticed that the order in which the three remaining players were introduced was always the same too? Whether it was Monty Mole's doing or simply their apparition order at the beginning of each chapter?

That was actually foreshadowing their final placement. Bootler who was always introduced first, would be the winner, Noki, always second, would be the runner-up, and Toad, the Mole, would always be third.

Chapter Twenty Eight : Monty's Witty Wordplay

Monty Mole cleared his throat and closed the door. He waddled his way toward the center of the room and faced them. "Bootler, Noki, Toad. You are the final three of this game. At the beginning, there were ten of you, ten players striving for victory. And now, only you three survived. The Mole left nothing behind their path as the game progressed. Nothing? No, this isn't correct. Two of you were spared, for they knew more about the Mole than anyone else. This final episode will help determine who knows the most about the Mole, I hope you're all ready," he wished, taking a close look at the last three players.

Here, the important phrase was this one : " The Mole left nothing behind their path as the game progressed". If you were to look at the introduction of the players at the beginning of episode one and compare it to the introduction of the players at the beginning of episode eight, you would see that, indeed, the Mole left nothing behind them. As the game progressed, the Mole executed Jojora, Pauline, Flurrie, Kooper and Mario, leaving nothing behind their introduction. Toad is the last one presented at the beginning of episode eight, meaning that he was the Mole.

Chapter Twenty Nine : Toad's Confessional

**Toad** : Even I found it strange when it was revealed that Bootler had chosen Noki for the 'love' questions and me for the 'cowardice' one, even though I guessed correctly for the first two questions. It made absolutely no sense and I can't help but think that it could have been a sabotage on his part. But then again, maybe we really don't know each other's train of thought that much, or maybe we were just confused because it was the first time we had to answer offensive questions like those.

The important sentence here is 'Even I found it strange when […].'. Why would Toad insist on the fact that Bootler's choices were strange to him if he were not the Mole?

Chapter Twenty Nine : The 3 Questions Game

Each of Toad's questions dealt with crimes, sabotages or lies, which was kind of ironical, seeing that he was the Mole.

"Man, the questions were almost impossible to answer! You have no idea how much I struggled to answer them!"

"I think we can relate to you," Bootler considered.

"Trust me, you really don't know. They were much more difficult than yours and Noki's."

And during this part, Toad complains about the difficulty of the questions. While one could think that Bootler and Toad are discussing the challenge casually, the truth is that Bootler cannot relate to Toad, because Toad is the Mole and never questioned his friends' honesty.

Chapter Thirty : Monty Mole's Dish

The first and only time the meals of the host and the players are described, Monty Mole had a Mushroom Omelette. And Toad is a mushroom.

Chapter Thirty : Kylie's Book

Kylie's book is entitled 'The Shroob Threat', and it was not a sheer happenstance that it was picked as the final book the players had to find. Indeed, its contents have nothing to do with Toad, as the book narrates the adventure of Mario, Luigi and their baby forms as they traveled through time to save the Mushroom Kingdom from the Shroob's Invasion.

However, the title of the book holds a true significance for the Mole. The clue located inside the book 'Congratulations, you found me! Or did you?' was also strange. The 'me' stands for the Mole, and the fact that the players 'found the Mole' meant that the book was giving out the identity of the Mole in some way. The second part was also here to show them that everything was not as it seemed. There were actually two Moles in the challenge, and both Moles were linked to the book. The players only discovered one of the Moles : Kylie Koopa.

If you were to look back at the very beginning of the game (chapter 2), you would see that Toad claimed to have been a participant in a game show called 'The Shroob Threat', effectively tying him to the role of the Mole.

Chapter Thirty Two : Toad's strange remark 

When Bootler, Noki and Toad played Mushroom Mix-Up, this happened :

'"Ah!" Noki shouted as she hit the water. "You pushed me, Toad!" she yelled angrily as she swam toward Francesca's boat.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" Toad apologized. "It's just that... I was trained that way, this is how we usually play the game! Sorry!"

**Toad** : I really didn't mean to, I swear! At the time I didn't even realize that I was pushing her off the platform. But seriously, that's how the game is played.'

Toad is definitely right. In Mario Party, you can push your opponents off the edge of the mushrooms, you can also prevent them from reaching the platform by blocking them with your body, or you can squash them under your derriere with a ground pound. The strange fact is that Toad claims to have been trained to do that to his opponents, but this cannot be, for he never played this game himself during Mario Party, as he was the one holding the flags. But if he never played this game, what is this training he refers to? His training as the Mole, evidently.

Besides, later on during the same chapter, when the players have a game of All Fired Up, Toad makes no effort whatsoever to warn them about the difficulty of the challenge and does not even tell them what kind of formations the Podoboo can adopt. If he did partake in the mini-games of Mario Party One, then he should have partaken in the mini-games of Mario Party Three too.

Chapter Thirty Two : A Mole-ish Replacement

After Toad decided to stay behind to replace the flat tire, Bootler and Noki went up the snowy mountain and found their next challenge. When they go there, the Eerie in charge of the mini-game notices that there is one missing player, so he decides to replace that player, as seen there :

'"This mini-game is called 'Avalanche!'. All you have to do is ski down the slope and reach the final jump first to win the game and add twenty minutes to your timer. Since there are only two of you, one additional player will compete against you, did you get it?"'

One of their opponents is a Monty Mole, and he coincidentally is presented after the Cheep Cheep. Why? Because he was not supposed to play in the challenge, thus this Monty Mole is the replacement.

'The Eerie from before came back and told them that the race would begin shortly, however, Noki and Bootler did not hear him. They barely heard the familiar voice saying 'Start' and gave their opponents – a red Cheep Cheep wearing a cowboy hat and a Monty Mole with a big brown mustache – a head start.'

And what is a better replacement for Toad, the Mole, than a literal mole?

Chapter Thirty Three : The Mole's (Un)Lucky Draw

At the beginning of their encounter with Goomba, the owner of the Casino asks Toad to pick a card first. Toad chose the one which gave him thirteen points, however, the cards were not shuffled beforehand, so he knew where were the cards. Thus, he chose the one which fitted him best, the one decorated with a Thirteen, which could stand for a 'M', or the Mole.

Chapter Thirty Three : Monty's Final Clue

'"We're in a Party Land to be," Monty Mole declared mysteriously, grinning as he did so. "However, I don't want to spoil you so don't expect precisions. Princess Peach and your friend Mario told us that we could use this place which is somehow significant to you guys. You've been playing this game for a while, and your quiz awaits you at the end of the road. But no one knows what is beyond this road, it will be your job to write the end of this history, and for one of you, it will change your life forever," Monty exclaimed, using some of his witty sentences to add more mystery to the atmosphere. '

As you can read, Monty Mole explains to the players that they are in a Party Land to be, but does not want to say more because it would spoil them. The question is, what would it spoil them about? As Monty told them, the place is significant to the players, but in what way exactly? If the road is an image for the game, then it means that the road symbolizes the game, thus it symbolizes the endless search for the Mole and at the end of this road one would be able to find the Mole.

Everything makes much more sense when one knows that this road is actually called 'Toad Road'. It would spoil the players and viewers by giving them the name of the Mole.

The Mole's Dossier

The Mole's Dossier, which can be accessed via Princess Toady's profile, contained eight pages. You could access them by typing 'bootler', 'noki', 'toad', 'taupe', 'mol' and 'topo'. The names of the three finalists were a given while the other words all meant 'Mole' in another language. They could be found thanks to the noki page, which told you to try another language.

However, the bootler, toad and noki pages combined with the description of the dossier, on Princess Toady's profile, should have led you to the eighth and last page of this dossier. On the profile was written this line :

_'Here's the first page of the Mole's dossier. Seven others can be discovered, do you think you have the key to this whole mystery?'_

On the noki page this line :

'Maybe you need to use another language to unlock my secret...'

On the bootler page this line :

'Did you try to look at this puzzle looking outside the box?'

On the toad page this line :

'If you gather every little piece of information you've found thus far, victory is yours.'

With this information in mind, looking back at the story and more particularly chapter Nineteen, you would have seen that the Mole had left a Mole which bore a striking resemblance to the profile phrase.

'"I'm surprised that nobody saw the message left by the Mole..."

Jojora immediately focused. "Which message? I didn't see any message." Toad looked around the table and noticed a crumpled piece of paper. He reached for it and unfolded it.

"I think I got it! So, let's see," he hesitated for a moment, but everyone looked at him impatiently, urging him to start, so the player cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "'Hello, it's the Mole here! I've had a wonderful time seeing you struggle during this episode. Really, that was fun! But, you know, sometimes I'm wondering. Maybe it's really hard to be a genuine player. So yeah, I decided to leave you the key to this whole mystery, it will help you in the future. I don't know exactly when, but I'm sure it will help. Here you go!' and then there are numbers. 'Two, One, Four, Two, Two, Five, Five, Three, Six, Five,'" recited the mushroom.'

Truth is, the Mole had already given the solution to this puzzle, or the key to this whole mystery, as they put it. Thanks to the noki and bootler pages' messages, you would have known to think of a different language, one that isn't obvious at all, the language of numbers.

Entering the combination 2142255365 would lead to a very blatant picture of the Mole.

The Name of the Album

The Album on which the dossier was hosted was called : 'La Taupe : Menace du Xhampi'. Translating this title from French to English would have given to you the Mole's identity (The Mole : Threat of the Shroob). And Toad had stated he was a Shroob at the very beginning of the game (chapter two).

…

The players were speechless at the end of the video while Toad and the host were simply grinning from ear to ear. "There were more clues than I expected!" Toad remarked as Monty Mole winked to him.

"Well, the Mole doesn't have to know everything, do they?" It was then that Pauline broke out of her trance.

"You mean to tell me that Toad actually made a slip of the tongue right in front of me and I still didn't get it? I swear, I'm going to hit myself so hard after this..." Noki giggled.

"If it had not been for that clue, I would have never reached the finale," she admitted, smiling. "I don't even imagine what would've happened if I had been five minutes slower preparing myself for the day... I guess I would have been executed instead of Birdo..."

"Yeah, but then I would have probably thought that the others were all going for Jojora too and that that was the reason why you left," Birdo assumed thoughtfully. "I can't believe I've avoided my execution by two times!"

Donkey stared blankly in front of him. "I knew the title of this game. I was there when Toad suggested we had a party in the first place. I couldn't make the connection," Donkey sighed. "I suck at this game." Mario patted him on the back.

"I didn't do so hot myself either," Mario told him, grinning as he did so.

"I guess it was easier for Toad to deceive you as you knew him beforehand," Kooper hypothesized.

"Wouldn't they have been able to catch his lies more easily for that same reason?" Flurrie wondered. Nobody had an answer to her question.

"I'm glad I found one clue at least," Jojora smirked. "Actually two, but the second one didn't matter that much since I had already been executed."

"Before everything ends, I would like to ask you guys a question. Who here would've liked to be the Mole?" Pauline raised her hand immediately, followed by Jojora, Mario and Donkey Kong. "Why, Pauline? Do you think you would have done a great job?"

"Well, from what I've gathered during this reunion show, I actually seemed to be a prime suspect back when I was still in the game. The winner voted for me, I know that much," she smiled cutely. "Besides, I'm great at sabotaging, aren't I?" Everyone began to laugh and Jojora began to give her reasons.

"I don't have much to say except that it would have been awesome to use the strategy I used as the Mole. I think that some people wouldn't have suspected me at all because my actions would be way too suspicious. And the greatest reward for the Mole is to execute people, as it means they've done a good job."

"What about you, Mario? I'm surprised to see you would have liked to be the Mole..."

"Who would expect the 'great Mario' as the Mole?" the plumber inquired. "I'm sure some of you thought I couldn't be the Mole because I was Mario. It would make for an interesting twist of events, don't you think so?" Everyone nodded, confirming his suspicions.

"And finally, Donkey...?"

"As I said before, I sucked at that game, so my incompetence would have been a great asset to the Mole," he stated as everyone around him began to laugh.

"Hmm, Toad, I was wondering... What advice would you give to the future Moles...?" Monty Mole questioned.

"That's a good question!" Kooper piped up. "I'm wondering myself."

Toad shrugged. "Well, I have tons of advice for them, but only one of them seems important to me. Two words : 'Have fun.' Being the Mole is a wonderful experience, don't let it go to waste." The players nodded, pleased with his response.

"You're right," Noki giggled. "It's just a game, so no matter what happens, no hard feelings."

"Ah, alas the ends is nigh!" Monty Mole realized. "I'm going to miss you, players, I had fun with your crazy antics."

"The end's coming so soon?" Birdo pouted. "I still want to play and talk with everyone."

"Well, we could host a small party just after this episode concludes," Mario proposed. "The Mole or the winner is buying us dinner of course."

"I guess it's on me then? After all I've done to you guys," Toad joked. Once again, the group erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Well, this season ends on a positive note, I am glad to have hosted it and who knows, maybe we'll see each other in the future?" Monty Mole asked to no one in particular, facing the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, it was my pleasure to be your host."

And with that, the players and the host headed out of the hotel, talking about their experience and the things that they would never forget. A grand adventure of deceit had come to a close, but they were all feeling closer than ever, a special bond linking them ever since they first stepped out of their helicopter near Pipetown's outskirts.

Kooper, the first eliminated player, looked back at his short adventure a little remorseful over his minus one but still glad it had ended the way it did. Now understanding the hard tasks the players were faced with, the young Koopa was able to get his job back, as Monty Mole's personal assistant, thanks to the host's persuasion.

Donkey returned to Glitz Pit, satisfied with how things turned out in the end. Thanks to this adventure, the fighter decided to rely less on brute strength and more on sly tactics and was able to claim the title of best fighter of Glitz Pit, surpassing Rawk Hawk, Prince Mush and even Gonzales Junior.

Flurrie went back to her home in Boggly Woods, only to have a 'splendastic' idea once again. The actress convinced everyone who had partaken in The Mole : Festive Saboteur to come and join her on the scene to reenact their adventures in order to raise money for her association. Everyone complied and Doopliss, her personal assistant, would fill in for the ones who had an unforeseen difficulty. Her play was a huge hit in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Thanks to her performance during the game, Pauline was able to get in contact with a producer who gave her a major role in a movie. The model did not forget about her friends and continued her job at the model agency, doing two jobs at a time. She also gained in popularity in the Mushroom Kingdom, helping her possible rise to fame.

Mario returned home and told Luigi everything that had happened in great detail. His brother would often ask him questions about the game and its difficulty, and Mario would always answer with a smile on his face, remembering his adventure. Princess Peach was also glad that he returned and asked him if he wanted to take some vacations with her and Daisy (Luigi was also invited) in Diamond City. Hopefully, they managed to have an actual vacation for once...

Thanking the stars for the amazing time she had in the game, Birdo went back to LavaLava Island with Yoshi. As soon as she was reunited with her loved one, he proposed to her and she accepted happily. The couple had their honeymoon at Isle Delfino, where Birdo had the pleasure to see Noki who had become her best friend after the game ended.

The inhabitant of Joke End became surprisingly famous once the game ended. The ice fairy gained in popularity and was even invited by Prince Peasly to have dinner and discuss of their experiences. Art critics also swarmed her house to look at her creations, evaluating their price and judging their quality. All in all, the game had a very positive influence on her life.

After an adventure of a lifetime, Noki opted to return to her house, taking a well-deserved vacation from her job. The Mole was not as popular at Isle Delfino as it was in the Mushroom Kingdom, so the calm Noki managed to get some time to herself until her friends heard that she was back home. From there on, she had to tell countless times what had happened during her adventure, not that it bothered her. Although she had come close to win it, Noki was not disappointed. If anything, she was glad she had been able to be experience it fully.

It was price in hand that Bootler returned to the Boo Mansion in Forever Forest. Startled, puzzled, befuddled, flabbergasted were the words that correctly described the faces of his friends when he showed them his reward. Everyone congratulated him on a job well done, however the old Boo was only waiting to see the smile on his mistress' face when he would announce her his success. Once Lady Bow heard about the news, she demanded that a great party should be hosted for the hero of Boo Mansion. She was glad for Bootler, and her butler was immensely thankful for her actions.

As for the Mole, they went back to their usual life. The gardener went home with the satisfaction of a job well done and connections to ten other persons that he would never ever forget. When Toadette heard that he had been the Mole all along, she could not utter a single word for an hour, but when she regained her senses she bombarded him with questions. Overall, the happy-go-lucky Toad was happy to get back to his normal life in company of his lovely girlfriend, but at times he could not help but feel a tiny bit nostalgic as he remembered his adventure. However, nothing really ended for the Mole.

After all, 'Once a Mole, always a Mole'.

* * *

_This it it. The story is essentially finished now. I might add a parody chapter, a result/trivia/special thanks/disclaimer chapter, but I think that will be all. I actually wanted to create an alternate finale with Noki winning, but I honestly couldn't be bothered to change everything (yeah, it would be pointless to copy/paste everything and just change like 5 lines or something... I thought it would be best to change mostly everything.). Who knows, maybe I'll do it, like in a few years. *shot*_

_So, yeah, that's all, I suppose. *sniffles*_

_Oh and concerning the clues, I know some of them SUCK, but like, big time (mostly the one which connected Brighton to Toad) but hopefully you won't think they all do, because some of them actually took me some time to think of._

_I hope you guys have had a good a read and..._

_I think I'll do a sequel. :p I have all characters chosen, as I already sent Champ a 'trailer', so he can testify if I changed something. But I might take a few months to start it. There's still the second Mole story which is on hiatus... I'm completely demotivated for this one, seriously. If someone out there is reading this author note, and wants to create their own Mole story, I suggest sticking wit ten characters max. My second story would be long finished if I hadn't put twelve characters (psh, just for one clue too... XD)._

_Well, until next time !_


	39. Results and Trivia

**Luigiyoshifan56** : Haha, I believe it's merely a coincidence, I didn't intend on doing it. Thanks for your review !

**Kaiimi** : Don't worry, I'm just glad you enjoyed the story ! I'm often behind on reviewing stories too. XD Thank you for your review and glad to see you were surprised ! ^^

Results :

Episode 1 :

Mixed-Up Possession : 8 000/20 000

Treasure Hunters : 0/20 000

**Total Money** : 8 000/40 000

Exempted : **Flurrie.**

Minus One : **Kooper**

Executed : **Kooper**

Episode 2 :

Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep : 0/20 000

Floral Composition : 20 000/20 000

Split Homework : 6 000/15 000

**Total Money** : 34 000/95 000

Exempted : **Flurrie, Mario, Pauline.**

Executed : **Donkey**

Episode 3 :

Clue Hunt : 25 000/40 000

Feet Versus Wheels : 0/20 000

**Total Money** : 59 000/155 000

Exempted : **Bootler, Toad.**

Bribed : **Flurrie**

Episode 4 :

Flurrie's Bribe : +20 000

Family Problems : 14 000/30 000

Under the Spotlight : 6 000/30 000

**Total Money** : 99 000/235 000

Plus One : **Birdo**

Executed : **Pauline**

Episode 5 :

Exemption Roulette : 20 000/20 000

Mansion Nightmare : 15 000/30 000

Jewelry Robbery : 0/20 000

Bootler's Penalty : -1 000

**Total Money** : 133 000/305 000

Exempted : **Birdo, Noki.**

Executed : **Mario**

Episode 6 :

Lost Castle ; Lost Digits : 0/20 000

Another Memory : 0/10 000

Instrumental Search : 20 000/25 000

**Total Money** : 153 000/360 000

Plus One : **Birdo**

Executed : **Birdo**

Episode 7 :

Arts Versus Craps : 10 000/40 000

Distant Memories : 15 000/15 000

Mystic Relics : 15 000/25 000

**Total Money** : 193 000/440 000

Executed : **Jojora**

Episode 8 :

Three Questions Game : 0/30 000

Final Temptation : 15 000/20 000

Last Journey : 50 000/50 000

**Total Money** : 258 000/540 000

**Runner-Up** : _Noki Delphis._

**Winner** : _Bootler Majordome._

**Mole** : _Toad Phalloïde._

Credits/Special Thanks :

This is a fanfiction hosted on fanfictiondotcom, which means that I do not possess the Mario series. I only own the storyline in itself, the characters, locations and other details mostly belonging to Nintendo.

I would like to thank all the readers, but also the reviewers without whom this story would probably not be as good as it is. You all deserve a special thanks for helping me and giving me tips, and I really enjoyed reading your suspicions and comments.

Luigenius, Champ 15, Kaiimi, DryBonesKing, Rootbeer Chimcharz/Charz, Tom Nooke, Krisetchers, Met Guard, Ice Empoleon, Koopa2pa, TheGreatAvenger, Vivalahomestar, VGMNRJTheRaccoon, Arrowson, Tails-is-pwnage, Shilo Burbans, CyanComet/Androids101/PrincessRosalinaFanboy, Too Lazy To login, Person With a Question, Kokiss, Guest, Herbtail and Luigiyoshifan56.

I know some people didn't leave their identity behind, but I still felt like thanking them. If you left an unidentified review, thank you very much!

Trivia :

Originally, Bootler was never supposed to be the winner of this game. Noki or Jojora should have won, but he claimed victory thanks to your support.

At first, the elimination order was supposed to be Donkey, Kooper, Flurrie, Bootler/Pauline, Birdo, Pauline/Bootler, Mario, Noki/Jojora as finalists and Toad as the Mole. I changed Kooper's and Donkey's positions because I prefer the latter, Birdo and Pauline also moved quite a bit for I had plans for the damsel in red since she was also one of the players I wanted to see for quite some time. However, Mario or Bootler would have had to pay the price and unfortunately for her, I wanted a shocker execution so she was my choice. Had I kept her around, Noki would not have gone as far as she did, for Pauline would have probably been her replacement.

Some things were forgotten throughout the story, like the names of certain challenges. There was also one challenge that kept switching names : Antic Relics/Mystic Relics.

Sabotages from other players were forgotten on purpose, because I deemed it would have been too much, or that the pot was not high enough. For example, in the second episode, toward the end of the challenge 'Twenty Thousand Bucks Under the Sheep', Toad grabbed seven bags, some of them containing no money but penalties which would be given if the players did not do what the papers said. Evidently, Toad did not have time to comply, thus he should have lost money for the team, much like Donkey Kong did when he refused to take off his clogs. However I dismissed the idea as the pot was really low at the time.

Another sabotage was scraped in the same episode, in the Floral Composition Challenge. When Noki went back to her windmill with Birdo, she contacted the team once again and they told her they had found one flower. Noki asked about its aspects and when Mario gave her an accurate description, Noki let out this sentence : "Oh, it must be the tulip then... I guess you also found the purple one when I left, right ?" At the very beginning of the challenge, it was said that the brains of the team could not state directly the names of the flowers the others needed to find.

This one was put aside because Noki had been acting tremendously suspicious during the episode.

The title of this story was initially supposed to be 'The Mole : Trouble Ahoy !' however it was dropped as I was not really sure it was what I thought it was. Instead, I went with 'Festive Saboteur' as it gave a clue to the Mole's identity, and used the first title for a chapter.

Some players did not make the cut. I had plans for Bowser, Lady Bow, Boo and Petey Piranha to be in the story, however I decided to put Donkey in Bowser's place, Bootler as I could not choose between the two others and Petey did not make it simply because he is a male for English speakers while she's a female for me (Flora Piranha), much like Vivian is a male to me and a girl for English speakers.

The Mole of this season was the first player that came to my mind when I wanted to create a Mole story. From the time I first thought of writing this story to its end, he was always the Mole.

If you have read 'The Mole : Traitor Aboard' and 'The Mole : Saboteur's Island', both stories being written by author Krisetchers, you could have seen some references to his stories, like the name of the person who caused Jojora to lose in the 'Family Problems' mission – Luvbi Nimbis – as well as Yoshi and Toadette saying that they wished they could play the game too and when Toadette claimed that she had a feeling of déjà vu when she and the others were sightseeing in Neon Heights.

At first, the challenge 'Exemption Roulette' was not compulsory and did not require four persons to be selected unanimously. Five thousand coins were supposed to be added for each player added to the roulette. This challenge was not the only one that was modified, the Mansion Nightmare challenge was first supposed to be a race, not a teamwork effort, for example. The three questions game was nonexistent in the first draft, the Mystic Relics challenge was supposed to be for the lone player to return to the mansion where the other three were trying to guide him in spite of the fact he was blindfolded, the Family Problems challenge first involved a duel between the teams of the players and the loved ones, etcetera...

Recommendations :

You liked this story? Then you'll probably also like...

_The Mole: Traitor Aboard_ by Krisetchers.

_The Mole: Saboteur's Island_ by Krisetchers.

_The Mole: Super Smash Bros Edition_ by TheGreatAvenger.

_The Mole: Mushroom Madness_ by Cyan Comet.

_The Mole: Crazy Calamities_ by Shilo Burbans.

_The Mole: Hired Criminal_ by Champ 15.

_The Mole: Fiend's Burrow_ by Vivalahomestar.

_The Mole: Paper Mario Edition_ by The Smart One 64

_Total Drama Mole_ by author999

_The Mole: Pokemon & Digimon Edition_ by Gomamon.

_The Mole: Lucky Match_ by Future Fantasy Writer


	40. An Alternate Ending

**Monty Mole** : Welcome everyone to the finale of 'The Mole : Festive Saboteur !' It's been three months since we last saw our three finalists. They've been cut off from the world and sequestered all this time in those three green Warp Pipes!

The curtains open and reveal three green warp pipes. The fallen players are appalled.

**Mario** : Wait, you mean to tell me that they've been inside for three whole months?! Are you freakin' kidding me?

**Monty Mole** : Errr... No. Why is that?

**Mario** : What kind of sick show is this!?

**Monty Mole**, clearing his throat : ANYWAY! Bootler, Noki and Toad are all waiting patiently in their warp pipe, anxious to know who won, who lost and who was the Mole!

**Toad**, from inside his pipe : Hmm... I'm not really excited to be honest.

**Jojora** : Shut up Toad, nobody asked you!

**Monty Mole** : Thanks Jojora. But why do I have a feeling of déjà vu...? Well, not important. As you might have noticed, unless you were blind as a mole, I have with me the seven executed players. Let's introduce them, starting with Kooper! My dear friend! (forces a smile)

**Kooper** : Hey Monty! Why does your smile seem so fake?

**Monty Mole** : Oh no reason, it has absolutely nothing to do with how I rigged your execution because I thought it was unfair you got to be a player and not me.

**Kooper**, completely oblivious : I'm glad there's no hard feeling!

**Monty Mole** : Next is our second executed player, Donkey Kong! Donkey, how does it feel to be the second executed player?

**Donkey** : Well, I don't particularly understand why it was me who was executed because I voted for Toad and everyone here knows he's the Mole... But I don't care, I'm finally in a relationship.

**Monty Mole** : Well, that was random. But fear not, you weren't executed because you had disrespected me! (once again, Monty Mole shows a big grin to the camera) And... Who's the unlucky girl? Candy? Dixie? Wrinkly? Pauline?

**Pauline** : HELL NO!

**Donkey** : Who said it was a girl?

Donkey and Mario are seen wiggling their eyebrows as they stare at each other flirtatiously.

**Birdo** : I need to use the puke bucket. (runs away)

**Jojora** : Just like in that one story.

**Kooper**, grinning : Oh yeah, I remember in that challenge when she- (Jojora punches him)

**Jojora** : Nobody wants to hear your yapping.

**Monty Mole** : Then, please welcome our third executed player, Flurrie Cumulia, the greatest actress the world has ever known!

Silence as Flurrie isn't on screen.

**Monty Mole** : Where the hell did that stupid broad go?

**Mario** : My guess is that she's fashionably late.

**Pauline** : Old habits die hard.

**Jojora** : So true. Once a whore, always a whore.

**Pauline** : That's exactly what I mean!

**Jojora** : Also, dyeing your hair because you're a blonde won't change the fact that you're stupid.

**Pauline**, grinning broadly : That too! I swear, you totally understand me!

(The contestants all smack their forehead as they notice Pauline's stupidity)

**Noki**, from the warp pipe : Could you please hurry up? I'm tired of eating soil, it's already been three months.

**Bootler**, from the warp pipe : I concur. For a moment I thought you had forgotten about us.

**Monty Mole** : I would never do that, Bootler, you know me.

**Bootler**, from inside the warp pipe : Well, I have my doubts.

**Monty Mole** : Next, Pauline, the worst dumbass Jojora has ever known!

**Jojora** : Stop quoting me!

**Monty Mole** : Sheesh, stop bitching first! Anyway, next we have Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom!

**Mario** : Actually I'm not anymore, ever since Peach found out about me and Donkey-kins I've been fired from my job as a national hero.

**Monty Mole**, gasping : Oh my god! Whatever shall we do?

**?** : Welcome the beautiful Flurrie? (Flurrie floats toward the host, pushes him with her prominent bottom and starts posing, revealing parts of her anatomy)

**Everyone** : EWWWWW!

**Mario**, screaming madly : Begone, monstrosity! It's my introduction, so get lost! You're scaring little children with your gigantic boobs! I don't need them anymore!

**Flurrie**, huffing : Well, you never needed them!

**Mario** : Excuse me?

**Flurrie** : Everyone knows that Peach is as flat as an ironing board!

**Birdo** : Le Gasp!

**Jojora** : Such an attention whore.

**Birdo** : I know, right?

**Jojora** : I was talking about you. Stop blabbering nonsense!

**Birdo** : But I want to have a few lines to show that I exist!

**Monty Mole** : Oh, well, that's great Birdo, because it's your turn to speak!

**Birdo** : I-I don't know what to say...

**Donkey**, shaking his head, crossing his arms and legs and pouting in a stereotypical way : Thank you for wasting our time. (Donkey tosses his head)

**Monty Mole** : . . . MOVING ON! Jojora, you were the greatest player of this season, why do you feel you were executed.

**Jojora** : Because I knew too much. Obviously the producers rigged my results because everyone else saw me as the bad guy and wanted me gone. Also, I'm under the impression that they've been playing favorite the whole time which is probably true since the Mole isn't even-

**Birdo** : I'm a great kisser.

**Monty Mole**, sweating : Thank you Birdo, you were useful for once.

**Kooper** : I'm bored.

Jojora punches Kooper hard in the nose.

**Monty Mole** : So, players, who do you think the Mole is?

**Pauline** : Birdo has a big mole on her face, that must be a clue!

**Flurrie** : We're talking about the traitor of the game, darling.

**Pauline** : Oh then it's Toad, he called me fat the first day we arrived.

**Birdo** : I've bandwagonned the whole time I was on the show since I have no personality, so I say Toad too!

**Kooper** : Well, I have no clue and I couldn't care less!

**The others **: Same here.

**Monty Mole** : Well, time to reveal who won the game! Players, if you would please step forward!

The executed players all move toward Monty Mole.

**Monty Mole** : Not you, dimwits! Now, I will drop a trampoline in your warp pipes, when someone gives you the go, please use it and jump out.

**Players** : Okay!

**Monty Mole** : Here I go!

**Noki** : OOWWWWW! Why did you drop an anvil on my head?!

**Monty Mole** : Whoops, my bad! You're not even the winner, I apologize.

Noki begins to cry. She cries so much that she fills up her warp pipe and floats to the surface before Bootler actually has time to jump out of his pipe.

**Noki** : I won!

**Monty Mole** : No you didn-Oh, who cares! Noki, you're the official winner of this game! Congratulations! (Monty Mole gives an enormous trophy to Noki who takes it happily)

**Noki** : Oh thank you everyone! It really means so-BLUB BLUB BLUB

**Monty Mole** : I guess the trophy is too heavy for her.

**Mario** : She's drowning! Aren't you going to save her?

**Monty Mole** : No way! Do you see this suit? It cost me ten thousand coins! I'm not going to risk my outfit just for a random player. Why don't you do it?

**Mario** : Because it's against my beliefs, I don't like girls anymore.

**Donkey** : I have an idea!

Donkey picks up Flurrie and throws her into Noki's pipe, flooding the room and saving the blue-shelled girl.

**Kooper** : Nice job, Donkey, you saved her life!

**Donkey** : Oooh... I actually wanted her to drown so that we'd split the winnings between all of us.

**Birdo** : Remember kids, brush your teeth three times a day.

**Bootler**, coming out from his pipe : Yahoo! I won!

**Monty Mole** : Sorry, it took you way too long so we decided to crown Noki as the winner.

**Bootler** : But... It is so UNFAIR! It took me a good five minutes to understand how a trampoline worked... Curse my old age!

**Jojora** : Shut up, gramps.

**Monty Mole** : And so it's finally time to reveal who the Mole is...

**Flurrie**, hogging the camera : But we all know Toad is the Mole.

**Monty Mole** : Oh hush! May the Mole please jump out of their warp pipe?

Five minutes later...

**Birdo** : My Little Mole : Deceiving is Magic!

**Noki** : Do we really need to deal with this idiot?

**Kooper** : I thought she was your friend?

**Noki** : Of course she was my friend in the game, she gave me all her exemptions, plus ones, information, suspicions and whatnot. She was doing everything I told her to do.

**Jojora** : What a devious mastermind! You're even worse than me!

**Bootler** : Ah, kids nowadays, they are full of life...

**Monty Mole** : Bootler, quit being delusional. Noki, how did you know Birdo would be so naïve?

**Noki** : I told her to go naked to the police station and she did so. (The others are stunned)

**Pauline** : What are we waiting for, exactly?

**Monty Mole** : The final player needs to show up for this reunion show to be complete.

**Toad?** : Oh, you wanted me to join you? Why didn't you say so earlier?

**Monty Mole** : I did.

**Toad?** : No, you told the Mole to join you.

**Jojora** : And he isn't the Mole.

**The others** : What?

**Toad?** : I'm Toad's twin brother, my brother has been arrested on the first day of this game show because he was the godfather of Toadtown's mafia, so the producers asked me to replace him.

**Mario** : Unbelievable!

**Birdo**, singing : I believe I can fly!

**Bootler** : This is an outrage!

**Monty Mole**, sweating : You really think so?

**Bootler** : I meant Birdo's singing. (Monty Mole sighs in relief)

**Monty Mole** : Now that we know who won, who lost, and who wasn't supposed to be in the game, let's see how everything played out!

…

**Episode 1**

When the game first started, Toad was selected as the Mole because he threatened to blow out the producers' head.

_Flashback **Toad** : I'm not joking around. (Toad shoots Kooper's father and laughs maniacally)_

Unfortunately, the mushroom did not realize that the show would be broadcast and that authorities would find him soon.

_(Flashback of bombs being thrown inside the hotel, windows braking, people screaming, Toad firing at people and sirens blaring while Birdo is sleeping soundly)_

_(Flashback of Birdo being bitch-slapped because the others heard her snoring that night)_

Because Toad got caught, the producers were forced to kindly ask his brother to play the game in his place.

_Flashback **Toad's Brother**, beaten up : Okay, I'll play! Don't hurt me anymore, please!_

Unfortunately, the producers forgot to inform him that he needed to sabotage so basically there was no Mole the entire time. Pauline scored the highest score that night, with a sixteen.

**Monty Mole** : What the hell? There were only ten questions?!

And Kooper was executed in a metaphorical way, unlike his father, because Monty Mole was jealous of the fact he had not been chosen to be part of the game.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole putting a minus ten in an envelope and giving it to Kooper)_

**Episode 2**

The players struggled during the most complicated challenge in Mole history. They all suffered a break down during the Split Homework challenge.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole asking what one plus one is)_

_Flashback **Pauline** : I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE, IT'S TOO HARD!_

Pressured by the intellectual aspect of this game, the players fell apart and all scored a zero on the quiz.

_Flashback **Bootler** : Say, how am I supposed to operate a computer? (Bootler disconnects a cable and is unable to take his quiz, much like everyone else who had to take it after him)_

However, that was in Monty Mole's favor. Thanks to the mediocrity of the players, he was able to eliminate the one he liked the least : Donkey Kong.

_Flashback **Donkey** : Oh puh-lease, your boots are so NOT in._

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : You shouldn't have messed with my fashion sense._

**Episode 3**

With the two persons he liked the least out of the game, Monty Mole began to have another target : Flurrie. Indeed, he knew her boobs were harmful for the ratings, and since he did not want his pay to get lowered, he had to execute her without anyone's knowing.

_(Flashback of Flurrie directing the camera toward her exposed chest)_

_(Flashback of numerous lawsuits against the director of the show)_

Motivated by pure greed, Monty Mole did his best to get the actress out of the game.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Pauline, Flurrie said that you are fat._

_Flashback **Pauline** : That's it, she's going DOWN._

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Jojora, I give you five thousand coins if you make Flurrie's life hell in this game._

_Flashback **Jojora** : Deal._

But what secured his pay was that he told Flurrie that she would get more screen time if she were to leave the game.

_Flashback **Flurrie** : I can't wait to see myself on the screen!_

**Episode 4**

At the beginning of this episode, Mario realized he had feelings for Donkey Kong, feelings that had been hidden deeply into his subconscious the whole time. Angry with himself, he decided to take his rage out on someone he believed was responsible for making him feel nothing toward Donkey.

_Flashback **Mario** : It's all her fault! She's going to pay..._

The plumber went to talk to Pauline, but the discussion quickly escalated.

_Flashback **Mario** : You're fat._

_Flashback **Pauline** : You did not say that!_

_Flashback **Mario** : Yes I did!_

**Pauline** : Mario said I was fat, he is the Mole!

And Pauline was gone, just like that.

**Episode 5**

Now satisfied with his revenge, Mario decided it was time for him to rejoin the love of his life.

**Mario** : I can't take it anymore!

However, the game began to be incredibly rigged as Mario was offered three exemptions in a row.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole chuckling as he sees Mario's bewildered face)_

In the exemption roulette, Mario did his best not to be eligible to win an exemption.

_Flashback **Mario** : I don't want to win an exemption._

_Flashback **Jojora** : I want you to win an exemption._

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : She's right, you're an asset to this team!_

_Flashback **Bootler** : I must admit, thanks to Mario we were able to add three thousand coins to our team pot..._

_Flashback **Noki** : And it's the only time we were able to add money to the pot, too..._

_Flashback **Birdo** : I am titanium!_

_Flashback **everyone but Birdo** : SHUT UP!_

In the end, everyone but Mario wanted to give Mario an exemption, so he had to sabotage. Then, during the Mansion Nightmare challenge, Mario began to suspect that he was victim of a curse.

_Flashback **Mario** : I DON'T WANT ANY EXEMPTION!_

And finally, during the last challenge, he lost the game on purpose, saying that he was the thief of Holly Koopa's jewel.

_Flashback **Mario** : It's me!_

But Monty Mole knew the ratings would drop if Mario were to leave the game, so he had a plan...

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : I will falsify his results._

Unfortunately for the host, an inspector was there the night Mario was eliminated, and Monty Mole's plans were thwarted. Funnily enough, Mario was not the lowest scorer that night.

**Episode 6**

With half of the players gone, the remaining ones were sure that they had correctly identified the Mole.

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : What's a Mole?_

_Flashback **Jojora** : I still don't know who the Mole is, but I try my best to act like the Mole._

_Flashback **Noki** : The Mole? I'd say Monty is a mole._

_Flashback **Bootler** : I daresay my alarm clock is acting Mole-ish at present. Why, it decided not to wake me up today, so Monty Mole gave a penalty to our team._

_Flashback **Birdo** : Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're my sex bomb! The Mole? They're not here anymore, they were replaced by their brother._

Anyway... In Mario's Rainbow Castle, there was a room which contained a single container inside of which was a surprise. The audacious Birdo took the risk and won lyrics of numerous songs that she immediately began to sing.

_Flashback __**Birdo**__ : ____'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home!____Calling, calling, calling home!_

Unfortunately, the producers were sued due to copyright infringement and had no choice but to send Birdo home.

**Episode 7**

During this episode, Jojora was a total bitch. As always.

_Flashback **Jojora** : Shut up!_

_Flashback **Jojora** : You're so pitiful you make me feel like totally barfing!_

_Flashback **Jojora** : (CENSORED)_

But it was not because of her bitchiness that she was executed. Monty Mole decided to execute her because she was _actually_ smart, compared to the rest of the players, and had managed to single-handedly add fifteen thousand coins to the team pot during the game 'Distant Memories'.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole raging as the players celebrate their first victory)_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Off with her, she's going to ruin us!_

And Jojora met her demise that night.

**Episode 8**

For this episode, the Mole decided not to sabotage as they have this weird habit of not sabotaging during the last episode.

**Monty Mole** : Except the Mole never sabotaged at all.

Showing both smartness and flexibility, Noki and Bootler managed to reach the final round of the game.

_Flashback **Bootler** : I hate sunny days! Why can't I go back to Forever Forest?_

_Flashback **Noki** : One point five hour obviously translates to one hour and fifty minutes. It's common sense!_

In the end, they tied with a score of zero, but Bootler was the fastest and won the game.

_Flashback **Bootler** : I say, why does this computer refuse to let me go to the next question? (Bootler repeatedly pushes the enter button when suddenly his computer stops lagging and tells him he is finished) Well... I was never good with technology anyway._

…

**Bootler** : Well, that was mighty interesting.

**Jojora** : No, that was (CENSORED) stupid! What the hell, I was executed because I actually WON a challenge?!

**Monty Mole** : Well, you must understand, with the economical crisis and everything... We couldn't afford losing so many coins...

**Pauline** : I can't believe you Mario! How dare you get me eliminated in such a way?

**Mario** : I was tired of your slutty ways.

**Pauline** : Oh yeah? Prove it!

_Flashback **Pauline**, looking at Mario flirtatiously : Come on Mario! It will be just like the old days! _

**Pauline** : Fair enough.

**Birdo** : The cake is a lie.

**Flurrie** : My wonderful self has a question. If Toad's brother didn't know he was the Mole, how did he sabotage? And since he wasn't technically the Mole, how were we supposed to actually get some points on quizzes?

**Monty Mole** : Oh, easy one. Answering Toad on the quiz would most likely grant you a point since Toad's brother isn't called Toad.

**Donkey** : I think Kooper passed out.

**Monty Mole** : Oh? Well, at least he didn't passed away like his father!

**Noki** : You're so insensitive!

**Monty Mole** : So?

**Noki** : . . . I like that...

**Donkey** : Ooooookay... So, are we going to have a list of sabotages or what?

**Monty Mole** : Alright, alright! Gosh, you guys are so needy!

…

**Sabotages**

Mixed-Up Possessions :

In the first mission of the game, Toad did not want to draw too much attention toward himself.

**Toad** : They'll probably suspect me if I get more than six items... And I don't want that, do I?

Toad went into the challenge, trying to get half of the items correctly labeled. However, he sucked so much that in the end, he only managed to get his own item. Thankfully, the others were as lame as him, if not worse.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Birdo, you suck so much that you didn't even get your own item. How stupid can you get?_

_Flashback **Birdo** : Over nine thousand!_

Treasure Hunters :

Please note that Toad had been arrested at that moment and that his twin brother had replaced him.

**Toad's brother** : Let's do our best!

And their best they did, apparently. None of them were able to get past the first round, so none of them could look for the treasure.

Twenty Thousand Bucks Under the Sheep :

Toad's brother did not get the challenge, he thought the goal of the challenge was to count the number of sheep there were in the pen.

_Flashback **Donkey** : Let's herd them this way!_

_Flashback **Jojora** : Me and Toad will be counting._

_Flashback **Flurrie** : We found out that there were twenty thousand seven hundred and fifty one sheep._

_Flashback **Monty Mole**, flabbergasted : What the heck? First, there were only twenty six sheep and second, I didn't tell you to count how many sheep there were!_

Split Homework :

The way Toad's brother sabotaged the challenge was subtle. Indeed, ever since Toad had been sent to jail, his brother had taken the role of the Mole and had told the players his personal information. However, the challenges had been conceived with Toad's information...

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Okay, the first question is... When was Toad born?_

_(Flashback of everyone answering July 16)_

However, Toad was born on June 1, so the challenge ended seconds after it had started.

...

**Noki** : Wait a moment, how is that even possible?! If it's Toad's twin brother, then he should have the same birth date as Toad!

**Monty Mole**, sweating profusely : Don't ask me!

…

Clue Hunt :

Everyone got lost even though Pipetown is only composed of three building, so the team lost eighty thousand coins. But since they had nothing in their pot, Monty Mole decided not to penalize them.

Feet Versus Wheels :

Once again, the team lost the challenge but it was not Toad's brother's fault.

_(Flashback of Flurrie crashing the car against a shop)_

_(Flashback of Monty Mole, the players and the crew fleeing as they are assaulted by bystanders) _

Family Problems :

Toad's brother had to beat Luigi in a kart race. What the viewers did not know was that Toad's brother hated Luigi, so he took the race as an opportunity to get rid of him.

_(Flashback of Toad's brother ramming against Luigi's car as Luigi screams like a sissy)_

However, Toad's brother did not have his driver license, so he crashed the car and lost his part of the challenge.

Under the Spotlight :

The team was being incompetent and relied on Mario's strengths throughout the challenge.

_(Flashback of Toad's brother, Jojora, Pauline, Birdo, Noki and Bootler drinking tea while Mario did everything)_

Mario was able to win three thousand coins by himself and was seen as a hero.

Exemption Roulette :

As we all saw earlier, Mario did not want to win an exemption, but the others thought otherwise.

_Flashback **Birdo** : Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario._

_Flashback **Bootler** : Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario._

_Flashback **Jojora** : Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario._

_Flashback **Noki : Mario**, Mario, Mario, Mario._

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario._

So Mario had to sabotage.

_Flashback **Mario** : Birdo, Toad, Jojora and Noki._

Mansion Nightmare :

The team decided to stay close so that nobody would be able to sabotage. Unfortunately, they all went in the dark room and were squashed against the wall at the same time, so they lost yet another challenge.

…

**Bootler** : Huh...? But I thought Mario had managed to reach the end of the mansion and chose money instead of an exemption...?

**Birdo** : Shitty retroactive continuity.

Monty Mole glares at Birdo.

…

Jewelry Robbery :

Toad's brother could not sabotage the challenge as Mario did it himself.

_Flashback **Mario** : I'm the culprit!_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : No you're not, it's one of those five!_

_Flashback **Mario** : I tell you I did it!_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Ugh, FINE!_

Lost Castle ; Lost Digits :

Toad's brother completely sabotaged the challenge, unbeknownst to everyone, himself included.

_Flashback **Jojora** : Do you think we have a challenge?_

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : Of course not! I suggest we just stay here until further notice._

_(Flashback of everyone staying in place except Birdo)_

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Your goal was to reach the top of the castle, bunch of morons._

Another Memory :

None of the players wanted to give someone else their journals for the simple reason that they had written valuable information inside. But that was a lie, let's see what was inside the journals...

Journal Jojora : (CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED)

Well, let's not.

Instrumental Search :

The players wasted fifty minutes arguing about who was going to take which clue.

_(Flashback of a huge fistfight which takes place in the room where are located the computers)_

And when the players finally settled, they realized they had destroyed the only computer which could have helped them win the game.

Arts Versus Craps :

Toad's brother poor artistic sense helped him lose the game, although the truth was that Jojora was way better than everyone else.

_Flashback **Noki** : Oh my god, our work of art is so beautiful!_

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : It's so pretty I want to cry._

_Flashback **Mason Coles Hallyboo** : I also want to cry, but not for the same reasons._

Their workpiece was a poorly designed dog, which looked like a hybrid of a shark and an ostrich.

Distant Memories :

The team won this challenge thanks to Jojora, which is why she was later eliminated by Monty Mole.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : She's going down._

Mystic Relics :

Toad's brother did nothing during the challenge, as someone from the production crew forgot to give him a walkie-talkie. Do not worry, we took care of this person.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole throwing the stupid fool inside a volcano)_

Three Questions Game :

The players were all trying to play mind games with each other, and they ultimately failed to add money to the pot.

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : For Toad, who's more likely to wear a dress? Noki or Bootler?_

_Flashback **Bootler** : I believe it is obvious that I am the dress-wearing person here. So we will go with Bootler._

_Flashback **Monty Mole** : Toad, what was your choice?_

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : I said Noki because she was wearing a dress this morning. (Noki slaps Toad's brother)_

_Flashback **Noki** : Voyeur!_

Final Temptation :

The players all broke down during this challenge, as it involved books and a library. And everyone knows that books are evil.

_Flashback **Toad's brother** : Oh my god! There are so many books! I'm suffocating!_

_Flashback **Noki**, hyperventilating : Do we have to read them all?_

_Flashback **Bootler**, passed out : …_

Last Journey :

The players did not know how to drive a car and they crashed it in the Moonlight Hotel. They never reached Monty Mole and the producers actually had to hire rescue workers as the finalists were trapped inside a cavern as a result of a cave in.

_(Flashback of Monty Mole grumbling to himself)_

…

**Toad's brother** : I sabotaged a lot even though I didn't know I was the Mole.

**Kooper** : …

**Jojora** : You didn't sabotage, you sucked! That's all there is to it!

**Monty Mole** : Oh, shut up Jojora, you were not really good yourself.

**Jojora** : You executed me because I won a challenge, dumbass!

**Monty Mole** : Noki, when you entered the game, how did you feel?

**Birdo** : First I was afraid, I was petrified!

Everyone punches Birdo.

**Noki** : I thought I would win easily.

**Monty Mole** : And now, how does it feel to be the sole winner of sixteen thousand coins?

**Noki **: I feel enraged because I could have won eighteen thousand coins if it had not been for Bootler's penalties!

**Bootler** : I apologize!

**Pauline** : Bootler scored two goals?!

Silence.

**Mario** : Now you understand why I don't want to date her anymore?

**Donkey** : It'd be hard not to. Up next, the clues?

**Monty Mole** : Indeed, Donkey!

Donkey blushes and giggles girlishly as Mario glares at Monty Mole.

…

**The Hidden Clues**

Episode 1 : When Toad first came out of his helicopter, he was wearing a T-shirt on which was a mole. Furthermore, on the T-shirt were also the words 'I am the Mole'.

Episode 2 : In the hotel, there was a clue which said : 'THE MOLE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU'. Toad is called 'RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU' in the Mafia world.

Episode 3 : The clue leading to yet another clue, during Clue Hunt, clued you. 'Hello, here's the Mole! I'll only say one thing : the clue is already in the palm of my hand!' Most of the time, people have five fingers, which gave you a first number, five. And there was another number in the clue, one. Toad is born on May 1.

…

**Jojora** : (CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED), (CENSORED) Toad is (CENSORED) born on June 1!

**Monty Mole** : Shush, it's not over yet.

…

Episode 3 : But Toad was not born on May 1, he was born on June. Had you known that fact you would have understood that the clue was deceiving you, just like Toad.

…

**Flurrie** : I'm speechless.

…

Episode 4 : The music that was played at the end of the episode was polka. Everyone knows that polka is Monty Mole's favorite genre, linking the music to the Mole. Unfortunately, Toad does not like polka at all, so it was a little useless.

Episode 5 : During the mission Mansion Nightmare, there were four cheerleaders mole who gracefully spelled Toad's name for approximately half a second.

Episode 6 : In the pool full of ping pong balls, four particular balls had an inscription on them. On one of them was a 'T', on another was a 'O', there was one with a 'A' and the last one had a 'D'. The ping pong balls would spell Toad, the name of the Mole.

Episode 7 : In the Mystery Mansion, there was a Monty Mole holding a mushroom. This was a clue leading to the identity of the Mole.

Episode 8 : When Lays meets Toad's brother, he said : 'How are you, my fellow Mole?' But Lays himself was fooled for Toad's brother was not the Mole, it was Toad. Nonetheless, it still counts as a clue.

…

**Donkey** : The clues were stupid.

**Noki** : How were we supposed to know that Toad was part of the Mafia? And even if we knew, he would have never told us his Mafia codename...

**Monty Mole** : Not my problem!

**Mario** : You're a really terrible host, you know that?

**Jojora** : No wonder I bitched so much.

**Flurrie** : It's in your nature, dear.

**Pauline** : Thank goodness this reunion show's finally over! I needed to comb my hair.

**Kooper** : …

**Bootler** : I want to say that this game was a wonderful experience and that I will never ever forget about it.

**Monty Mole** : Hypocrite.

**Toad's brother** : Ah, this is the end... Too bad I never really understood what people wanted me to do.

**Monty Mole** : All is well that ends well.

Kooper kills himself, spilling blood and guts everywhere.

**The others** : You said it!

**Birdo** : Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness... And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I know how to save a life!

* * *

_This is the end!_

_Thank you everyone for reading and leaving reviews, and I hope this final chapter will make you smile a little!_

_It's always kind of weird when you finish a story like this, because you kind of feel attached to the universe and the characters, and you wish you could continue writing it but you can't._

_I really want to thank you all because I was able to improve my English thanks to you guys. ^^_


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